Centenary Building, Salford University (1996)
This showpiece building for the University of Salford houses the design faculty. The university wanted a building that would demonstrate its commitment to technology and design.
Internally this building is dynamic; top light washes down one side and is complemented by artificial light. The colouring – cool greys, silver and white – and the asymmetry of the galleries and bridges create patterns and a certain complexity. The result is light and lively. These qualities are reinforced by the architect’s decision to deny some rooms windows, giving them instead fully glazed internal walls.
Internally this building is dynamic; top light washes down one side and is complemented by artificial light. The colouring – cool greys, silver and white – and the asymmetry of the galleries and bridges create patterns and a certain complexity. The result is light and lively. These qualities are reinforced by the architect’s decision to deny some rooms windows, giving them instead fully glazed internal walls.
Despite being built quickly and cheaply – the team were on site just 12 weeks after its appointment – the building is a dynamic, modern and
sophisticated exercise in steel, glass and concrete. The architects have created a wide studio and lecture theatre space with indirect daylighting. Breaking up the internal street with galleries and bridges, and exposing rooms to this central space gives an air of purpose and animation.
Looking back, Stephen Hodder of winning firm Hodder + Partners, said: ‘Winning the Stirling Prize was amazing for the practice, but possibly it did come too early. Suddenly we were competing with the big boys like Hopkins at Nottingham University and MacCormac at Coventry. And we weren’t really ready. In many ways it might have been better to win it later when the prize itself had grown in status. Still, winning the first ever Stirling Prize was very special indeed for us.’
