EMBT: school of architecture, Venice, Italy

Architectural Review, The, April, 2005

For this project for Venice's new school of architecture, Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue emphasise notions of informality and fluidity, conscious of the fact that learning can often take place outside the formal boundaries of the classroom. The building is surrounded by sets of grand staircases that can be used for all kinds of social interaction in the manner of Venice's familiar stepped bridges. Steps and ramps thread through the building and its external courtyards, linking classrooms, studios and lecture theatres. Fragments of local Murano glass are used to add colour and animation to the elevations, sparkling and scintillating when reflected against the water. C. S.

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