School of Awesome Art

It wont surprise you to know that this recently completed concrete school of art, design and architecture at the University of Monterrey in Mexico, was designed and executed by Japanese architect champion Tadao Ando.

Tadao Ando is best known for raw in situ concrete buildings that slice light and shade in wonderfully emotional ways. Probably one of his most famous buildings is the Church of the Lightwhere as a more recent works include, a concrete house on the breath taking edge of a cliff in Sri Lanka and the endlessly lauded Issey Miyake Foundation research centre in Tokyo. (I've been there :)

Centro Roberto Garza Sada de Arte Arquitectura y Diseño is, quite simply, six-storey block with a huge triangular void at its centre. The beauty of this building is definitely it's simplicity. The void exposes the underside of the building, creating the delightful twisted structure that shelters the entrance for staff, students and visitors while other perforations in the facade provide outdoor corridors and meeting areas, as well as an open-air amphitheatre.

This building provides studios and teaching rooms for over 300 students, the six storey's of the building accommodate different a wide variety of creative disciplines. Digital facilities occupy the first two levels, while visual arts can be found on the second floor. Textiles and photography share the third floor, model-making workshops are grouped together on the fourth floor and the top storey is home to the fashion department.

The design of the building concentrates most of the windows in three main light wells that come from the rooftop to the floors below that allow the natural lighting and ventilation for the study spaces with in the building. Combined with high electrical efficiency and intelligent systems through the building, the building is an enhanced environment for living.

The finishes of the building nurture a creative atmosphere with a lovely cool pallet of natural material in keeping with classic Ando style. Granite, concrete and epoxy-coated floors meet apparent concrete walls, plaster, drywall and resin panels make the flow of inside to outside seamless. The windows of aluminum and insulated glasses are cleverly engineered with low-e faces and integrated automated blinds linked to the lighting control system for a more efficient solar control.


This building was nominated in the Higher Education and Research award category at the World Architecture Festival to be announced later this year.