A.I.T.E.

The design of this spreading collection of facilities has been orchestrated so as to permit that it follows the escalating character of the landscape. The volumes of the built environment keep close to the ground, their angled geometry following the rugged hillside while also creating confident spaces and relationships of their own. Hard surfaces and sheer surfaces are broken up through substantial planting. The conversation with the context is enriched. A balance achieved. Screens and materials provide further tangibility and human scale. Openings are guarded and reduced in area so that what appears as a solid slowly begins to be carefully perforated. With the first inklings of night the hidden interior begins to paint the spaces beyond with its own energy and the textured surfaces of roof, floor and wall are brought into an entirely different perspective. All the way through the educational establishment is devoid of hierarchy. External and internal spaces appear randomly spread across the hillside, the positive tension between volumes serving to inform and form equally potent external events.