The Moulsecoomb campus at Brighton University is undergoing a tile-tastic transformation with a £60 million project. Part of this Big Build is Elm House – a new architecturally striking business school.

Designed by Hassell Studio, the façade-focused building acts as an ode to the university experience and the evolution individuals go through throughout their time there. To represent this, the tiled façade takes inspiration from the nearby Brighton Pier and the seagulls that frequent it.

Hassell Studio specified Spanish maker Tempio to produce 50,000 bespoke pieces for the project with 18 different formats of the company’s White Tarifa colourway and various gloss, satin and matt enamel finishes mixed and matched throughout for a varied, dynamic look.

The development has been created with sensitive consideration to achived the highest environmental and sustainability standards. ‘We use only natural clay and recycle all our waste,’ says Maria Saval, design director at Tempio. ‘Our ventilated ceramic facades save energy costs as well as offering thermal and acoustic benefits to the users.’

The space will not only serve as a new campus landmark, but will also be home to a café and a triple storey atrium that will act as a platform in which to hold public performances and exhibitions.

Studio Hassell worked closely with the university to ensure the business school would provide an innovative learning experience that ‘breaks with tradition’ and create ‘a teaching and learning experience with a constantly changing sequence of activities and events that shift with the people who use it.’ A cross-faculty vision for the school extends beyond the confined of business, opening it up to other departments with flexible spaces for teaching and learning.

Studio Hassell
Tempio

A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, January 2022.