A new location for the Hereford College of Art

This college is a sub-faculty of the Hereford College of Art, moved to a site in Monmouth, to increase its current capabilities. The Faculty of Photography focuses on Environmental and Natural Photography so thrives in this riverside site. Additional collage renders looking into the [1] first-floor library space, elevated from the busyness of study life below. Views across to the Monmouth School for Boys connect old and new educative spaces and boast views out to the Forest of Dean in the background.

The photography course I researched focused on “Photography and the environment” so I chose certain views to highlight the nature of the surrounding area. This allows the students to appreciate the new beauty of the area in comparison to their previous site’s location, which was too built-up. The light sets and photography rooms [3] are large open spaces with little natural light. The students work collaboratively with the interchangeable green screens or backdrop rolls to produce beautiful sets of photography.

The walls are lined with thin lime plaster to provide a natural backdrop for projects and improve air quality in the space. The group study spaces [2] on the periphery of the college are connected through a tunnelled passageway under the existing Wye bridge structure. This allows these students to interact with the building and textures of Monmouth's past and incorporate this perhaps into their modern innovative works. These look out across the permeable paving to the wild garden of perennial plants. These provide excellent subject matter for natural, patterned, and micro photography mediums, as well as proving resilient in flood prone sites. My design is composed of geopolymer concrete walls [4] which I chose for its durability and water-resistant properties. The strength of concrete and stone materials is reflected in the ashlar bridge – a key component to my site. As these areas is a major flood zone, concrete was a fine choice as it has been used in flood prevention methods such as dams and restraining walls for decades.

. To avoid the damaging the carbon impact of standard concrete, this variant of geopolymer concrete uses ash, slag, and other waste materials in place of the traditional aggregate to improve the carbon offset of my build. In all, the students produce work on, and receive inspiration from the landscape and views provided across the river and surrounding my chosen site.