Situated in the heart of Christchurch, amongst the city’s arts centre, the Canterbury Graduate School of Design introduces an industrial factory of architecture to the recently restored cultural centre.
By using elevated, constructivist container forms CGSD allows a pedestrian flow between the existing buildings and the proposed school. The design compromises of three distinct elevated elements. The Silos, the Sphere and the Studios.

Silo: the architecture library program is stacked and placed into nine silos – two of which form vertical circulation and another a restricted access archive. The remaining silos create intimate spaces for book stacks and reading rooms. All naturally lit by the ambient, diffused light through the glass block building envelope. A steel exoskeleton manifests the structural framework; much like the gothic revivalist arts centre on site.

Sphere: A public lecture theatre and debate chamber extends the private program of the university lecture theatre to allow a civic use when class is not in session. For the arts centre a space for performance and presentation is key; as well as a space for architectural debate in the city of Christchurch. The engineered structure is designed based on a steel geodesic sphere, supported by 5 steel stilts and clad in steel sheet metal. The sphere is accessed by elevator, or escalator.

Studios: Three large blocks create the students studio spaces, which also contain the faculty offices. A mesh building envelope features a subtle transparency when sitting against the stone heritage building on site, though doesn’t attempt to blend with the gothic building. Instead manifesting its own industrial gothic support structure which elbows the tapered floors of the studios.