faulknerbrowns was commissioned to inform and support the growth and innovation strategy of durham university in england, with the development of a new university masterplan. central to the new university strategy and masterplan was the provision of enhanced teaching and learning facilities to support an increase in student numbers, enable the adoption of new pedagogies, and to create facilities that could be shared by all students rather than be aligned to specific faculties or departments. the lower mountjoy teaching and learning center was the first strategic project to emerge from this plan. 

 
 
located at the heart of the university, this important new facility designed by faulknerbrowns, offers a world class space for teaching and learning at durham university. independent research into how spatial design can support the success of innovative pedagogies, informed the development of a teaching and learning ?space model?, which became the basis for the building?s accommodation brief and subsequently the internal layout. 
 
 
a top-lit central courtyard forms the social and circulation hub of the building giving access to the café, 250 and 500 seat lecture theatres, seminar spaces and project rooms. a diverse mix of teaching spaces surrounds the lecture theatres, supporting traditional seminars as well as more innovative pedagogies. the vaulted top floor of the center provides an extensive ?learning commons? with a broad range of settings for focused, contempl...