Crab: Abedian School

The Abedian School of Architecture’s building is a long, airy loft on two to three levels articulated by a series of “scoops”: defining structure-enclosures that can be used for casual meetings. These line the central street that gently rises up the hilltop site.

As befits a hot and sometimes sticky climate, the building is airy and folds over upon itself in a series of fan-like roofs and slits with advantage is taken of the east-west axis to clarify a very climate-controlled development of the building envelope that includes sunshade “eyebrows” on the sun-drenched north side.

Bond University’s new Abedian School of Architecture might be experienced as varied and episodic journey.  Sheltered and determined to the north, the building is airy, effortless and free to the south. The curvature of its spinal interior route establishes a new soft core for the North West Quadrant of the Campus – a core populated by the life of the school, by student experimentation, social gatherings, lectures, crits and weird happenings.

Leaving the existing spine pathway, the broad internal path dives underneath the nose of the quiet-study strip and proceeds past a series of “scoops”.  Via its meandering internal hill, the rise and fall of the building gently echoes the topography of its surroundings. From this street the faculty’s studios and large gathering spaces spread out onto a terraced deck – which itself melts into a re-vegetated hillside garden.

The Abedian School of Architecture is Crab’s second University building. As with their other work, the sociology and sense of theatre, of small, intimate groups within institutions, the importance of the non-curricula moments all run through the project which is taken right through to their design of its colourful and highly flexible furniture.

Abedian School of Architecture, Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Program: University
Architects: Crab Studio
Project team: Peter Cook, Gavin Robotham
Consultant: Arup
Client: Bond University
Area: 2500 sqm
Completion: 2013