Working closely with the University of Warwick, we designed a sustainable and refined space for staff and students to build new connections in the heart of the University Campus. Nestled within the beautifully landscaped campus of the University of Warwick, The Faculty of Arts building unites the Arts and Humanities Faculties. This bright and open space has become the cultural focus of the university and boasts a prime location on the main route across campus. The building is designed to be approached from all sides. It’s composed of four light-filled pavilions set around a grand central stair, with each pavilion housing teaching spaces, offices and academic clusters. In place of a traditional atrium at ground level, a sculptural wooden stair spirals around a series of spaces for use as studios, exhibition and event spaces. The design seamlessly fits in with the landscaped surroundings, and provides ample opportunities for serendipitous meetings, collaborations and interaction. To significantly reduce the footprint of the building and the volume of materials used, we challenged the number and size of standard academic offices and cellular space described in the brief. Larger academic studios resulted in a more open building that promotes a sense of invitation and community, encourages higher levels of space use between scheduled teaching, and creates a place that will better serve the Faculty of Arts for years to come. We were also able to leave out more than 450 metres of internal partitioning, glazed screens, doors and MEP equipment, alongside the associated embodied carbon - typical of our lean approach to design.