The new flagship Campus for City of Westminster College by Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects is designed to support new ways of teaching and learning. The 24,000m2 College won in a competition in 2006, provides much greater amounts of open learning spaces than typical colleges in the UK and holds state-of-the-art facilities for both students and staff. The building is designed to embrace interaction and diversity and allow students to learn from each other, both formally and informally.

?The learning spaces of the City of Westminster College are adaptable and flexible so that, in addition to the integrated technology, the students? development is supported by the diverse architectural spaces of the very building they are in. It is a design which encourages new ways of teaching and learning,? says Founding Partner of Schmidt Hammer Lassen architects, Mr. Morten Schmidt. Photography: Adam Mørk
The College is located in the heart of Central London at Paddington Green on the site of its previous building, an inefficient and failing 1960s block. The building has been designed from the inside-out, responding to the needs of the diverse groups who use the College, as well as taking into account the sensitive local context. It appears as a clean-cut, modern building with a distinct Scandinavian heritage. The building?s simple geometric forms rotate around a terraced atrium, creating a unifying yet flexible organisation.

?The respective floor plans surrounding the atrium have vi...