What Principles Were Behind the Design?
At the design stage, the business school reviewed its pedagogic strategy and
decided on a high-tech, high-touch building. This clarified that almost every
space would provide staff and students wired access to the Internet and offer
opportunities for non-technology-based face-to-face interaction. The earlier
research project had shown that knowledge work relies heavily on accidental
meetings and discourse; workspace planning can both help and hinder such
opportunities. Once this subtlety in the design requirement was clear, the architects
went to great lengths to produce a diversity of spaces that would support
a range of encounters, both formal and informal. This decision pedagogically to
concentrate on the high-tech, high-touch combination narrowed the range of
choices available and has continued to inform the updating of the facilities.
At the earliest stages, the dean of the business school mandated that the
user requirements for the building be derived from a research study into global
best practices to meet his vision of a “world-class temple of knowledge.” At
this stage—prior to the appointment of architects—visits were made to locations worldwide, including the Agora in Athens, which had successfully linked
the worlds of business, government, and academic thinking. Ultimately, the
single most powerful influence came from the San Marco Monastery in Florence,
since almost every configuration of its space is optimized to support
and stimulate knowledge work. (See Figure 7.) The Cass Business School
does not look like a monastery, but its design reflects a similar diversity and
quality of knowledge space.