Interventions space

Our next project, Interventions, is to be part of an exhibition within the colleges Past, Present, Future Practice research programme.

Our brief is to create an 'intervention' within the disused foyer area of the 1975 Matthew building.

The space is one of the brightest and warmest areas of the building making it a real shame that the entrance has not been used for some time.

Some of my observations of the space today have included:

The signage.

The levels and thier corresponding labels have not changed for perhaps a 15-20 years. It seems as if all of the buildings social areas- a cafe and a resturant have been converted into IT suites. During lunch hours are we just as likely to go and check our Facebook thesedays as to sit with friends and chat face to face. Why does the college no longer value social places as an important extention or escape from the studio environment. What effect has this had on the communication between students from different departments.

I wonder what this entrance would have been like when the building first opened?

The dead plants

One of the most striking aspects of the space is the quality of light and warmth. I overheard more than one peson saying that it was lovely and warm but not in the horrible way like our studio. The space seems a perfect habitat for the growth of plants if only they had been watered regularly. Could this space be used as an indoor garden area for students? Could we grow vegetables in the window boxes. Could I create a plant like form to grow from these pots that would need no care. The plants for me summed up the feeling that the space is neglected and forgotton.


The more time I spent in the foyer the more I actually liked it. Now, I am no fan of 1970s architechture and I am ashamed that a college with one of the best architecture and interior programmes in the county are housed in such a disfunctional space.

Despite this, it appears that with the loss of the Mathew Building entrance may have coincided with the loss of something else in the art school. From family and tutors we hear of when the art school was a very separate unit from the university, proud to be radical and different. Our art school has been swallowed into the rest of the university, into DUSA. From what I gather, art school was a much more fun and exciting place to be. Or is this just nostalgia??