Real world designs

I’ve been very impressed by the physical spaces that I’ve seen at the University of Umea. An informed architectural sensibility combines with an eye for design to create well-lit and comfortable meeting places. Each faculty has a distinctive feel, but yet it is all interlinked. Cohesive without being over-branded. I’m not sure if it’s a design for the future but it’s a good design for the present. The Beyond Current Horizons programme has its vision-mapper up and running, so I went straight to the school redesign section. I liked the statement that: creative and effective use of space can have a huge influence on learning and I think that’s what we may have here. Of course it’s all viewed through strangers eyes, rose-tinted spectacles and so on. But that all suggests that how we see spaces and the effect they have upon us is important.