DARLINGTON COLLEGE

After two years of occupying their new purpose built campus, the College felt their cohort lacked a dedicated student-focused social space. This led to the creation of the £700K ‘Gateway’, a single-storey extension on the site of a little-used external courtyard. The design retains a circulatory function, linking the central 'drum' atrium with a specialist teaching block, but now incorporates the 300sqm hub building which is split into distinct zones via the use of different furniture, floor coverings and wall colours, a student meeting room and vending area. The facade designs respond to the surrounding buildings and site orientation, including a series of south-facing bays created via a serrated plan, with each including glazed sliding doors and fixed external seating.