A brief filled with stimulating components, added to an unknown site with challenging constraints, uncanny learning conditions and a deep desire to return to our 'normal lives were the starting point of a design process that rooted from one question: What should an Architecture School be?

I am convinced that an Architecture School should be a space for interaction with other branches of knowledge that go beyond architectural acquaintance. A building dedicated to different types of intelligence among generations. What from Monday to Friday is an Architecture School, on the weekends offers workshops to the elderly of Newry. It is also a space for people to celebrate their creativity and stimulate their expression capacity via public lectures, photographic displays, art exhibits and ultimately showcase the work of future architects to the wider community. An Architecture school also engages with the environment.
Starting with sustainable construction and followed by participating in the upcycling of unwanted materials.

With this in mind, I have designed a building that can accommodate all three purposes in a synergistic environment while questioning the classic profile of an Architecture School.
Following the Socratic teaching method, I have replaced the conventional lecture theatre for discussion spaces - inside an indoors garden - that can be rearranged depending on the amount of participants. I have also created several social areas that interconnect with the Gallery through suspended bridges. The Workshop Area - as well as the materials disposed in the Collection Point- will be shared by students at the Architecture School and the Upcycle Centre, which pursues the aspiration of a collaborative environment.

Moreover, the materials palette is either easily recyclable or sources from recycled materials. Aesthetically, the main body of the school is cladded in aluminium while the more exposed to the public Gallery mimics the iridescence of the water body adjacent to the site thanks to the façade's finishing. The steel frame structure supporting this building can be demounted, meaning that its lifespan is doubled and allows for a 'movable building'.

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