Student Village in Malmesbury
- Sabine Drey
On the campus of the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology in Malmesbury, western England, 78 housing cubes have been stacked like Lego blocks to create a village for students. Laid out in a fan-like form about a circular community building, the dwellings stand in close proximity to a local branch of the Dyson company. The fully prefabricated spatial modules were designed by the WilkinsonEyre architects to a commission from the wealthy entrepreneur James Dyson, who became known in the mid-1980s for the invention of a new kind of vacuum cleaner. Having moved his headquarters to Asia, Dyson recalled his true origins with the foundation of an institute in the United Kingdom, thereby implementing his concept of educating engineers and making them competitive internationally, involving them at the same time in the development of new products. In this way, he realized his idea of hands-on, free study that combines practical work within the company with theoretical teaching and which receives its legitimation through a degree from the University of Warwick.
