In between the rush from here to there, have you noticed that we’re living in the ‘inbetween’?

While technology enables unprecedented levels of connectivity and inclusion, fragmentation abounds as our sense of community, belonging and traditional business models are turned on their heads. 

As GE Vice Chair Beth Comstock noted: “The old is going away and the new has not yet fully emerged. It’s uncomfortable and chaotic and it’s happening in every industry right now.”

Within this time of great change, experience has become king. For example, online learning means students can access all the information they need from home, so universities are looking for new ways to entice staff and students back to the campus with an unparalleled social and academic experience. Similarly, the transactional nature of e-commerce is driving traditional bricks and mortar retail to capitalise on the 3D world by offering an unrivalled brand experience. From events like the Nike Fuelfest at Battersea Power Station, or the Adidas Runners club, a pop up restaurant by supermarket Lidl collaborating with a Michelin Starred Chef, or the Red Bull Music Academy, these brands are bringing people together in an entirely immersive world.

The discipline of architecture has faced, and continues to face, a similar transformation. Once upon a time, the desire to create a ‘statement’ building or ‘iconic landmark’ was enough to justify a project but in today’s experience-based culture, we should be questioning whether this desire is simply enough.  

Addressing how the built outcome will relate to its context, how people will connect and engage with it or how it will actually serve the function it has been designed to perform are now key drivers in early concept design.

And in fact, in today’s world of the ‘inbetween’, one might ask whether a physical structure is even the right solution?

Once upon a time, the desire to create a ‘statement’ building or ‘iconic landmark’ was enough to justify a project but in today’s experience-based culture, we should be questioning whether this desire is simply enough.  

Yes, it may be that a university, for example, no longer has enough physical space to fulfill its research and teaching brief; but in today’s mobile working environment is a new building really the solution to getting people back on campus? We have to challenge ourselves to step back, remember who we are designing for and the things those people really care about.

The potential of places lies in creating spaces people love. And the secret of such spaces lies in that delicious intersection where places enable experiences, and experiences activate spaces. When these two worlds collide, form becomes secondary.

The element of collision becomes about space and time, hardware and software, creating destinations and curating journeys. It’s about understanding people, how they can be surprised and their curiosity ignited, opening them up to connect with others, exploring and celebrating the rich experience a place and space offers, whether it is for work or play.

Striking this balance is a challenge clients across a range of sectors are grappling with, but perhaps is being felt most acutely by those in higher education.

Today, universities are fighting intense battles on two equally important and symbiotic fronts – attracting and retaining leading edge academics whose research and teaching programs will draw students, and vice versa – attracting world class students, the leaders, innovators and creative geniuses of the future.

While attending the recent AUDE conference in Manchester, the conversation centered upon how universities can create a sense of identity and cohesion across campuses, while also establishing a place that would entice and excite a new generation of talent.

An increasing number of ‘engage and welcome’ buildings, and ‘teach and learn’ hubs are popping up on campuses around the country, but are they actually solving the problems Universities have identified?

Perhaps. But perhaps there is another approach, and it’s one HASSELL has been fortunate enough to pursue with some of the UK’s leading academic institutions.  

We have been working with these clients to peel back the layers of the ‘problem’ and examine the people the university serves and their experiences while they work or study at that specific institution. What would their ‘welcome and engagement’ experience maps look like, or what are the key outcomes they want to achieve with a teach and learn hub?

For the secondary school student contemplating their next step, perhaps their first experience of a university begins long-before they set foot on campus. It could begin with a taster video that sparks excitement at the possibilities on offer, it could be so compelling that the prospective student simply must visit the campus to find out more.
By thinking laterally, so much more can be achieved.

On arriving for the first time, curiosity is sparked by an enormous super-sized LED interactive screen showing insights into all manner of happenings across the university – from live research to tutorials, to responding to requests for information and social media commentary.

We also work with clients to consider how the various spaces and buildings link up to create a cohesive experience. With one client we worked on a concept of a canopy that majestically sails through the campus, rising and falling between buildings, suspended over open spaces rich with pop ups and sparking impromptu social collisions, a canopy that provides the distinct visual identity for the University.

In that instance it turns out a building wasn’t needed. A rich and diverse experience has been enough to spark new collisions and excitement in this world of inbetween.

By thinking laterally, so much more can be achieved.

Architectural mistakes lie in underestimating the importance of the end user, their motivations and their opinions. You’ll recognize the work of these ‘high priest’ architects because they’re still occurring today, and leave you with a hollow feeling, failing to spark an emotional connection.  

The examples can range from the grandiose but character-less dwelling that sits in a vacuum in its streetscape bearing no relevance to the daily lives of its residents to large megalithic institutions that don’t connect with their context or peoples’ activities taking place within.

Experience is so much bigger than form and function and is so much more satisfying for us – and inspiring for our clients – to deliver.