SWANSEA UNIVERSITY COMPUTATIONAL FOUNDRY
THE COMPUTATIONAL FOUNDRY IS A WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH AND GENERAL TEACHING FACILITY THAT HAS TRANSFORMED COMPUTER SCIENCE AT SWANSEA UNIVERSITY INTO A BEACON FOR COMPUTING IN WALES.
DESIGNED TO SUPPORT INCREASED COLLABORATION BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIA, THE BESPOKE ENVIRONMENT INCLUDES OFFICES, SPECIALIST LABORATORIES AND RESEARCH AND TEACHING AREAS. THE DESIGN HAS BEEN ACHIEVED THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY AND WIDER PROJECT TEAM TO CREATE AREAS THAT ALLOW COLLABORATIVE GATHERING OR SPONTANEOUS MOMENTS TO MEET, WITH SPACES DEDICATED TO HELPING STUDENTS DEVELOP THEIR IDEAS THROUGH TO COMPLETION.
The building is entered through a central atrium, containing lecture theatres and specialist laboratories. Over a further four floors, three atriums allow generous natural light, creating impressive visual connections across the building, enhancing connectivity.
The building is a steel frame with a precast façade, providing a level of precision and detail that would have been otherwise unfeasible. The façade is the largest of its kind in Wales, with more than 700 precast brick panels installed across two wings of up to five stories. This solution delivers the original design concept and provides ornamental relief and visual interest.
“THE SERENE APPEARANCE OF THE EXTERIOR AND INTERNAL SPACES REFLECTS THE METICULOUS METHODOLOGY, ORGANISED APPROACH AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL THAT HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED BY THE DESIGN TEAM THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT. THE TEAM WORKED EXTREMELY WELL WITH A COMPLEX GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS, AND THE RESULT IS A FACILITY WHICH EXCEEDS THE COLLECTIVE BRIEF. THE BUILDING IS AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO THE BAY CAMPUS, PROVIDING A SMART CONTEMPORARY WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE COMPUTATIONAL FOUNDRY AND PROVIDING THE IMPORTANT FOURTH ELEVATION TO THE MAIN URBAN SPACE.”
Fiona Nixon, Head of Projects and Planning, Swansea University, Computational Foundry
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