ancr
Foyer, Birmingham
This design for the first purpose built Foyer in Britain was to be built on a canalside site in Birmingham for the Shape Housing Association. Foyers, which have a long history in France, provide a nationwide residential network for young people who do not go on to higher education and require a place to live between the family home and complete independence.
The design proposes a section of several key levels and a varied profile which engages with the complex geometry of the site. A robust outer wall of green glazed cement panels wraps the Foyer, giving it an elevational scale analogous to its Victorian context.
The internal arrangement of the building is gathered around a courtyard made with the adjacent Snowhill hostel, which forms the first in a rich hierarchy of social spaces which permeate the interior of the building. The individual rooms are grouped around more intimate social spaces. The sum of these spaces make up the community of the building.
View from Canal Street
TOP