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 | | |  | | |  | | | | | | Name:
Kevin Edwards
Building:
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
Location:
Adjoining University of East Anglia
What is your relationship to this building?:
I have only been to the Sainsbury Centre once, but I feel I know it well.
Why do you love this building?:
I was taking my Son to an Open Day at the adjoining University of East Anglia. I had seen numerous Colleges and Universities that day and this building offered a welcomed contrast from the traditional academic architecture in Cambridge and the less elevated offerings at Colchester.
Essentially the centre is a massive engine shed, supported by vast rectangular trusses that hold the structure together. Its geometric intensity enables a large open spanned unit to house exhibitions, the building's primary function. The light has been cleverly focused and controlled which, when worked together with the other forces,
creates an ambience of space and freedom, serenity and awe. I think this is the reason that the centre works so well.
The building gave so much to the people who worked in it and their enthusiasm was contagious. Their pride in the building was infectious and warm. Wherever I went I was invited to explore it further. Before long I was walking a labyrinth of tunnels deep below the main structure. Looking at the clean graceful lines of a service passage I realised Sir Norman Foster had spared no detail in the design and achieved a building of true beauty.
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