Kidderminster College
Client:
Kidderminster College
Year of Completion:
2005
Architect/Designer: GVA Grimley Main Contractor/Customer: Interserve Building
Architect/Designer: GVA Grimley Main Contractor/Customer: Interserve Building
Designers of a college in Kidderminster chose to add a touch of class to the education centre by erecting three tensile fabric structures across the site. Architen Landrell was thrilled to receive the contract to install canopies at the main entrance, in the college courtyard and outside the crèche.
The three canopies at Kidderminster College, while each unique in design, were all created to fulfil two simple aims: firstly to protect student and staff from the weather and secondly to create interest and excitement around the campus using an unusual form of architecture.
In the college courtyard, Architen Landrell installed an umbrella style structure comprising a single coned membrane supported in its centre by a telescopic mast, connected at floor level. Designers were keen to channel the rainwater away from the courtyard and so the canopy is specifically shaped to fulfil this purpose.
Staff, students and visitors are welcomed to the college by the striking upturned canopy at the entrance to the building. The panelled structure comprises two identical bays of fabric sails designed to frame the doorway and identify the central point of the external facade.
Outside the college crèche, Architen Landrell was asked to install a canopy that would provide shade and protection from the weather and also make a feature of the space. Architen Landrell’s solution was to install a single triangular flat sail, supported in a steel frame and cantilevered off the building face.
