Concrete Elegance: Exploring spatial quality and natural light

Evening lecture organized by MPA The Concrete Centre in partnership with The Building Centre

CONCRETE finishes on both the grand scale and the intimate level will be examined at a forthcoming Concrete Elegance evening lecture to be held at The Building Centre, Store Street, London, on 25 January from 6.30pm. The event has been organized by MPA The Concrete Centre in partnership with The Building Centre and is sponsored by John Doyle Construction.

Paul Williams of Stanton Williams Architects will discuss the new University of the Arts campus at Central St Martins, London. Completed in 2011, the campus buildings combine robust historic architecture with bold, modern additions and inventions.

The six-storey Granary Building provides the main entrance, library and public face of the campus, while to the north, a substantial new concrete building accommodates studios, a drama centre and the formal teaching spaces.

An internal street draws daylight in and acts as the central circulation spine with suspended walkways, cafes, film, graphic and light projections. The spaces are designed to be flexible in order to allow different departments to develop their own identities while maintaining the integrity of the building as a whole.

At the other end of the spectrum, Mark Bell of Nord Architects will present a building of a more intimate scale, the Shingle House in Dungeness, Kent. The building consists of a solid internal core made from cast and smooth polished concrete, including hearth, chimney, stove, kitchen and bathroom, but is entirely covered with a combination of tarred cut shingles and timber boards to cloak the prefabricated system beneath.

Admission to the lecture is free but booking is essential. For further information visit: www.concretecentre.com