When setting the brief, the client described the function of this building as a ‘fusion of design and technology’ and asked that it reflect this. It houses the Departments of Spatial, Graphic and Industrial Design. The form is generated from the desire to articulate a clear expression of the brief, the internal programme, and a response to the building’s context astride the threshold between the City and the academic campus. Diagrammatically, the building defines a collegiate courtyard to an existing University building. Flexible studio and seminar space, and three service towers, are contained within a 4 storey orthogonal ‘bar’ of accommodation which defines the edge of the City block. Prescribed tutorial accommodation and technology suites are arranged in a free form 3 storey element address the newly defined courtyard The primary organisational device between the two types of accommodation is a linear atrium or ‘street’ within which all horizontal circulation via galleries is contained. In this way street life becomes an aspect of the life of the building; common areas and adjoining offices and studios engage with the street the animate the building and imbue it with a sense of purpose.