When Kingston University wanted a new teaching building for their Faculty of Business and Law, they drafted in Hawkings Brown who gave them a timeless, understated building, whose very appearance seems to resonate with the discrete manner of business people and lawyers that populate the business districts London.
The building is designed 'in the round' with entrances in each of its elevations. At its core is a dramatic top-lit atrium that becomes a hub for social interacting and learning. Off the hub are smaller more intimate 'laptop bars' resembling lounges or perhaps coffee shops.
The building is 7290 square metres set over five stories and is located on the Kingston Hill Campus in South West London. It has spacious interiors, a 150 seat auditorium, and 120 seat classroom with other staff teaching and study rooms. Its setting in a conservation area is responded to by its muted natural colours of the brownish brick and bronze anodized aluminium windows.
