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University architecture - with a library that looks like an open book etc
Category: Arts and Entertainment > Visual Arts Asked by: ed3-ga List Price: $15.00 |
Posted:
28 Nov 2003 10:54 PST
Expires: 28 Dec 2003 10:54 PST Question ID: 281419 |
There is a university - I think in the uk, but I'm not sure - which has marvellously odd architectural design, where the university library, for example, looks like an enormous open book - you enter through the end of the 'spine', if I remember correctly - and another building (possibly the art or design block) resembles a huge camera. I think all concrete buildings, I think approximately 1960s. I need details please, at the very least which university and which architect - a full critical appreciation of the campus would be great, but I suspect beyond the scope of the web... Thanks. | |
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Re: University architecture - with a library that looks like an open book etc
Answered By: czh-ga on 30 Nov 2003 20:47 PST Rated: |
Hello ed3-ga, I?m convinced that the University of Sussex at Falmer is the school with a ?marvellously odd architectural design? that you?re looking for. It was difficult to find, but I think it definitely matches your description. I tried many different search combinations to find your library shaped like an open book but I wasn?t finding anything on a campus. I discovered that buildings shaped like the function they fulfilled are called ?mimetic architecture.? I found lots of examples of this type of buildings in the United States but I wasn?t getting anywhere with finding English examples. I finally had a breakthrough when I searched on < English architecture 1960s > and discovered that there were some very interesting developments in English architecture at that time. One of the articles I found listed several architects who were especially active and mentioned Sir Basil Spence as the architect of some unusual design buildings at the University of Sussex at Falmer. When I looked up the campus architecture I was able to confirm that it was very distinctive. I?ve collected a big selection of photographs to illustrate my findings. I had been looking for the primitive style of mimetic architecture that I?m familiar with from California but instead I found some beautiful but very striking buildings on the University of Sussex campus. You can see an open book if you look at the library at a certain angle. You can visualize a camera while gazing at the Gardner Arts Centre. Many of the other buildings are also very evocative. The Library http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode10.html The Gardner Arts Centre http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/gardner.html I?ve included some background information about English architecture in the 1960s and about the work of Sir Basil Spence in particular. I hope you will find this information useful. If I?m on the wrong track, please ask for clarification. Enjoy! ~ czh ~ ================================= ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE 1960S ================================= http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,973498,00.html http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,9830,973500,00.html Concrete and glass of 60s to join dreaming spires on heritage list Jonathan Glancey Monday June 9, 2003 The Guardian There was a cultural revolution in British universities in the 60s and in few fields of creative endeavour was this expressed more vigorously than in architecture. Sir Basil Spence set the stone - and concrete - rolling with his ambitious, pop baroque designs for the University of Sussex at Falmer, near Brighton. His inspiration was the late-flowering work of Le Corbusier, but with a sense of humour gurned into the mix. University of Sussex, Brighton, from 1960. Sir Basil Spence, architect of Coventry cathedral, gave his imagination full stretch; whimsy, grace and intelligence playfully interwoven ============================ UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, FALMER ============================ http://www.sussex.ac.uk/press_office/about/ http://www.cein.net/cgi-bin/en/company_info.asp?CID=317 About the University of Sussex The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961. Forty years on, the University has become a leading teaching and research institution, characterised by a number of academic strengths including research excellence, internationalism and interdisciplinarity. Campus life Sussex is the only university in England which is entirely located in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Situated on the edge of the Sussex Downs, the University campus is like a large, self-contained village, with lecture theatres, seminar rooms, libraries, labs, accommodation, restaurants, bars, shops and sports facilities all within easy walking distance. Just a few minutes away is the lively, friendly seaside town of Brighton with its great leisure facilities and its rich, eclectic cultural life. Designed in the main by Sir Basil Spence, the campus buildings include Falmer House, which won one of the coveted medals of the Royal Institute of British Architects in the year it opened (1962) and the striking circular Meeting House based on the design of the traditional oast house which won a Civic Trust award in 1969. In 1993, the buildings which make up the core of Sir Basil Spence's original design were given listed building status. Falmer House was one of only two educational buildings in the UK to be given Grade 1 status of "exceptional interest". ------------------------------------------------- http://www.postgraduk.com/Adverts/PG_AD8930.htm The University of Sussex A stunning environment Sussex boasts one of the most beautiful and picturesque campuses in Britain. Located in rolling parkland on the edge of Brighton, the campus combines award-winning modern architecture and green open spaces... ***** Site includes some images of interesting architecture. ============================= UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX - IMAGES ============================= Campus Tour http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/index.html The Library http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode10.html Arts A steps http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode8.html Arts C arch http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode7.html Falmer House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode6.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode12.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode4.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode2.html http://www.sussex.ac.uk/central/graphics/photos/arch7.jpg http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/ussu.html The Gardner Arts Centre http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode5.html http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/gardner.html http://www.markreeves.co.uk/html/htmldigital/gardner_centre_03.html The Meeting House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode3.html http://homepage.ntlworld.com/duncanmcneill/brightonsarchitecture/69.html http://www.c20society.demon.co.uk/docs/building/meeting.html A colour filled 20th Century meditational ?shrine? in the heart of Sussex: Basil Spence?s Meeting House on the grounds of the University of Sussex The COGS Building http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode1.html The Boiler House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode11.html Postgraduate accommodation http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode14.html The Basil Spence Memorial Folly http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode9.html ================ SIR BASIL SPENCE ================ http://www.artsworld.com/art-architecture/biographies/s-u/spence-basil-urwin.html Biography -- Basil Urwin Spence Architect England Born 13 Aug 1907 Died 19 Nov 1976 ------------------------------------------------------ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,425763,00.html Sunday January 21, 2001 Celebrity squares As a student, the architect John Pardey developed a passion for Sir Basil Spence's Coventry Cathedral. Although the rebuilt cathedral, completed in 1962, was the British public's favourite building of the 20th century (according to a survey by English Heritage), its creator is nowadays largely dismissed and vilified. While his other buildings include the Sussex University Meeting House and the Beehive (the executive wing of the New Zealand parliament) in Wellington, his name is largely associated with concrete monstrosities of the 60s. Yet, in Pardey's eyes, Spence managed to fuse 'romantic with modernism'. 'At his best,' he says, 'Spence made things poetic.' ------------------------------------------------- http://wcc.govt.nz/wellington/heritage/inventory/pg58.html THE BEEHIVE, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS Architect: Sir Basil Spence. Date of Construction: 1970. ==================== MIMETIC ARCHITECTURE ==================== http://www.lib.umd.edu/NTL/glossary.html Glossary of Selected Index Terms Architecture, Mimetic: Characterized by a cartoonish element or caricature, mimetic architecture imitates a character, animal, or object not usually used for buildings. Lucy, the large pink elephant-shaped building on the Jersey Shore, is an example of Mimetic Architecture, as is the Brown Derby. -------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lukecole.com/Roadside%20Attractions/Roadside%20Attractions.htm Luke's Roadside Attractions ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi799.htm MIMETIC ARCHITECTURE ================================ LIBRARY SHAPED LIKE AN OPEN BOOK ================================ http://archive.ala.org/alonline/news/1998/981102.html Striking Staff at French National Library Claim Impossible Conditions President Jacques Chirac has called the multibillion-dollar building, designed by architect Dominique Perrault with four glass towers shaped like open books, an "extravagant folly" unfit for its purpose. ---------------------------------------------------- http://www.abbedon.com/electricminds/html/wwj_paris_2448.html making history at france's new national library Predictably, a number of these Great Works have been embroiled in controversy; the new library, which opened last December, is no exception. For the project, Mitterrand chose 36-year old Dominique Perrault from a final group of four architects selected by a jury from 250 applicants. In a simple but monumental arrangement, Perrault chose to erect four 250-foot towers shaped like open books. These rise high above a rectangular base that harbors an enclosed garden of exotic trees. Highly opinionated Parisians have had a field day criticizing this unconventional design. --------------------------------------------------------- http://users.bigpond.net.au/dacapo/image/libraryA.jpg LibraryA.jpg --------------------------------------------------------- http://french.esfsall.net/temporary%20documents/Paris/BC_0004.JPG The recently built National Library --------------------------------------------------------- http://www.sweetfancymoses.com/amati_kon3-1.htm Konstantinople ? A New Novel by Matt Amati Chapter Three: Beard and Book The University grounds were well kept, trimmed smooth with impossible bushes that had to have been the victims of topiary, unless it should be the case that the eminent residents of the Botany department should have discovered the elusive method by which bushes may be induced to grow in the shapes of teddy bears and manticores. Each university building was shaped like an enormous book, open halfway with its spine in the air. =============== SEARCH STRATEGY =============== university building shaped like open book library shaped like open book building "shaped like a camera" english architecture 1960s Sir Basil Spence University of Sussex |
ed3-ga
rated this answer:
Thank you, everyone. I particularly appreciated the context of the answer, the additional information provided. |
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| Subject:
Re: University architecture - with a library that looks like an open book etc
From: czh-ga on 29 Nov 2003 21:03 PST |
Hello ed3-ga, I tried many different search combinations to find your library shaped like an open book but I wasn?t finding anything on a campus. I discovered that buildings shaped like the function they fulfilled are called ?mimetic architecture.? I found lots of examples of this type of buildings in the United States but I wasn?t getting anywhere with finding English examples. I finally had a breakthrough when I searched on < English architecture 1960s > and discovered that there were some very interesting developments in English architecture at that time. One of the articles I found listed several architects who were especially active and mentioned Sir Basil Spence as the architect of some unusual design buildings at the University of Sussex at Falmer. When I looked up the campus architecture I was able to confirm that it was very distinctive. I?ve collected a big selection of photographs to illustrate my findings. I had been looking for the primitive style of mimetic architecture that I?m familiar with from California but instead I found some beautiful but very striking buildings on the University of Sussex campus. You can see an open book if you look at the library at a certain angle. You can visualize a camera while gazing at the Gardner Arts Centre. Many of the other buildings are also very evocative. The Library http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode10.html The Gardner Arts Centre http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/gardner.html I?ve included some background information about English architecture in the 1960s and about the work of Sir Basil Spence in particular. I hope you will find this information useful. If I?m on the wrong track, please ask for clarification. Enjoy! ~ czh ~ ================================= ENGLISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE 1960S ================================= http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,973498,00.html http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,9830,973500,00.html Concrete and glass of 60s to join dreaming spires on heritage list Jonathan Glancey Monday June 9, 2003 The Guardian There was a cultural revolution in British universities in the 60s and in few fields of creative endeavour was this expressed more vigorously than in architecture. Sir Basil Spence set the stone - and concrete - rolling with his ambitious, pop baroque designs for the University of Sussex at Falmer, near Brighton. His inspiration was the late-flowering work of Le Corbusier, but with a sense of humour gurned into the mix. University of Sussex, Brighton, from 1960. Sir Basil Spence, architect of Coventry cathedral, gave his imagination full stretch; whimsy, grace and intelligence playfully interwoven ============================ UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, FALMER ============================ http://www.sussex.ac.uk/press_office/about/ http://www.cein.net/cgi-bin/en/company_info.asp?CID=317 About the University of Sussex The University of Sussex was the first of the new wave of universities founded in the 1960s, receiving its Royal Charter in August 1961. Forty years on, the University has become a leading teaching and research institution, characterised by a number of academic strengths including research excellence, internationalism and interdisciplinarity. Campus life Sussex is the only university in England which is entirely located in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Situated on the edge of the Sussex Downs, the University campus is like a large, self-contained village, with lecture theatres, seminar rooms, libraries, labs, accommodation, restaurants, bars, shops and sports facilities all within easy walking distance. Just a few minutes away is the lively, friendly seaside town of Brighton with its great leisure facilities and its rich, eclectic cultural life. Designed in the main by Sir Basil Spence, the campus buildings include Falmer House, which won one of the coveted medals of the Royal Institute of British Architects in the year it opened (1962) and the striking circular Meeting House based on the design of the traditional oast house which won a Civic Trust award in 1969. In 1993, the buildings which make up the core of Sir Basil Spence's original design were given listed building status. Falmer House was one of only two educational buildings in the UK to be given Grade 1 status of "exceptional interest". ------------------------------------------------- http://www.postgraduk.com/Adverts/PG_AD8930.htm The University of Sussex A stunning environment Sussex boasts one of the most beautiful and picturesque campuses in Britain. Located in rolling parkland on the edge of Brighton, the campus combines award-winning modern architecture and green open spaces... ***** Site includes some images of interesting architecture. ============================= UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX - IMAGES ============================= Campus Tour http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/index.html The Library http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode10.html Arts A steps http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode8.html Arts C arch http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode7.html Falmer House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode6.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode12.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode4.html http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode2.html http://www.sussex.ac.uk/central/graphics/photos/arch7.jpg http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/ussu.html The Gardner Arts Centre http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode5.html http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USIS/campustour/gardner.html http://www.markreeves.co.uk/html/htmldigital/gardner_centre_03.html The Meeting House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode3.html http://homepage.ntlworld.com/duncanmcneill/brightonsarchitecture/69.html http://www.c20society.demon.co.uk/docs/building/meeting.html A colour filled 20th Century meditational ?shrine? in the heart of Sussex: Basil Spence?s Meeting House on the grounds of the University of Sussex The COGS Building http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode1.html The Boiler House http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode11.html Postgraduate accommodation http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode14.html The Basil Spence Memorial Folly http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/lab/nlp/misc/campus/campusnode9.html ================ SIR BASIL SPENCE ================ http://www.artsworld.com/art-architecture/biographies/s-u/spence-basil-urwin.html Biography -- Basil Urwin Spence Architect England Born 13 Aug 1907 Died 19 Nov 1976 ------------------------------------------------------ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/life/story/0,6903,425763,00.html Sunday January 21, 2001 Celebrity squares As a student, the architect John Pardey developed a passion for Sir Basil Spence's Coventry Cathedral. Although the rebuilt cathedral, completed in 1962, was the British public's favourite building of the 20th century (according to a survey by English Heritage), its creator is nowadays largely dismissed and vilified. While his other buildings include the Sussex University Meeting House and the Beehive (the executive wing of the New Zealand parliament) in Wellington, his name is largely associated with concrete monstrosities of the 60s. Yet, in Pardey's eyes, Spence managed to fuse 'romantic with modernism'. 'At his best,' he says, 'Spence made things poetic.' ------------------------------------------------- http://wcc.govt.nz/wellington/heritage/inventory/pg58.html THE BEEHIVE, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS Architect: Sir Basil Spence. Date of Construction: 1970. ==================== MIMETIC ARCHITECTURE ==================== http://www.lib.umd.edu/NTL/glossary.html Glossary of Selected Index Terms Architecture, Mimetic: Characterized by a cartoonish element or caricature, mimetic architecture imitates a character, animal, or object not usually used for buildings. Lucy, the large pink elephant-shaped building on the Jersey Shore, is an example of Mimetic Architecture, as is the Brown Derby. -------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lukecole.com/Roadside%20Attractions/Roadside%20Attractions.htm Luke's Roadside Attractions ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi799.htm MIMETIC ARCHITECTURE ================================ LIBRARY SHAPED LIKE AN OPEN BOOK ================================ http://archive.ala.org/alonline/news/1998/981102.html Striking Staff at French National Library Claim Impossible Conditions President Jacques Chirac has called the multibillion-dollar building, designed by architect Dominique Perrault with four glass towers shaped like open books, an "extravagant folly" unfit for its purpose. ---------------------------------------------------- http://www.abbedon.com/electricminds/html/wwj_paris_2448.html making history at france's new national library Predictably, a number of these Great Works have been embroiled in controversy; the new library, which opened last December, is no exception. For the project, Mitterrand chose 36-year old Dominique Perrault from a final group of four architects selected by a jury from 250 applicants. In a simple but monumental arrangement, Perrault chose to erect four 250-foot towers shaped like open books. These rise high above a rectangular base that harbors an enclosed garden of exotic trees. Highly opinionated Parisians have had a field day criticizing this unconventional design. --------------------------------------------------------- http://users.bigpond.net.au/dacapo/image/libraryA.jpg LibraryA.jpg --------------------------------------------------------- http://french.esfsall.net/temporary%20documents/Paris/BC_0004.JPG The recently built National Library --------------------------------------------------------- http://www.sweetfancymoses.com/amati_kon3-1.htm Konstantinople ? A New Novel by Matt Amati Chapter Three: Beard and Book The University grounds were well kept, trimmed smooth with impossible bushes that had to have been the victims of topiary, unless it should be the case that the eminent residents of the Botany department should have discovered the elusive method by which bushes may be induced to grow in the shapes of teddy bears and manticores. Each university building was shaped like an enormous book, open halfway with its spine in the air. =============== SEARCH STRATEGY =============== university building shaped like open book library shaped like open book building "shaped like a camera" english architecture 1960s Sir Basil Spence University of Sussex |
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