Community links
We believe the ultimate test of thelearning environment is the contributionit makes to society. There are manyways an educational institution can bringbenefits to its community. Which one isright depends on the institution's goalsand the society it serves.
That can happen in many ways depending on the typeof institution and together they make life-long learninga reality. Where parents work for an enlightened, largescaleorganisation like the DSS, their children may spendtheir formative first few years in a crèche provided by theemployer. We work hard to provide an environment thatencourages children and reassures parents and so helpsto broaden the concept of the community in the workplace,and to strengthen the links between the workplace and itsneighbourhood.
Schools often provide a social focus for their immediatearea. We believe design can help to broaden and deepenthis role, ensuring that pupils learn in a safe environmentbut also that resources like libraries and sports facilitiescan be shared with the community. Doubling up usagehelps to justify higher quality as well as strengtheninglinks with the community. Further education collegesalso provide options for adults to increase their skillsand prosper within the workplace.
In universities, the community can refer to the worldwidenetwork of specialists in particular fields of academicendeavour, or the immediate group of staff and studentsin one campus. Our campus extension including 350study bedrooms to the University of Brighton's EastbourneCampus has a series of buildings which create secure,landscaped courtyards surrounded by mature trees.This challenging site is in a conservation area and adjacentto an area of outstanding natural beauty. We achievedplanning consent where other architects had failed.
In all cases imaginative design can make the purpose ofthe buildings clearly legible. That gives them a civic identity,and whatever level and method of learning they provide,shows how design can help to make the learning processenjoyable for all, so that it becomes an integral strand of lifeacross an entire community.