Andrew Melville Halls, St. Andrews
1967



James Stirling

Two wings set at an acute angle with student dormitories stepped down section towards the tips from a pivotal core. Description further down page.

Andrew Melville Halls of Residence - Description:



The halls are set at the western edge of the St Andrews University campus at the north of the town, facing out to the famous golf courses.



The initial impression is of strong programme and acres of concrete. The buildings have a serrated plan - the angled windows provide strong rhythm to the facades. Ribbed concrete panels - with the pattern set at 45 degrees - are tessellated in an intriguing way and broken at roughly mid-height on the elevation by a strip of glazing. This glazing lines and lights the single-loaded corridors that fan out from the entry. In the wall set behind the corridor are small and large circular windows echoing the Runcorn project by James Stirling in England.



The whole feel of the building is heavily informed by site: it sits with its back against a sharp incline and faces out to the North Sea. Visiting on a Winter's later afternoon I found much of this north-facing site was in shade and although the view is superb there is a feeling of coldness, a damp dullness.



The landscape flows around the building in a fairly simple way, rolling grass over smooth mounds, a bit like the landscape at the Burrell Museum.



Entry is principally from the northeast, up a path centrally located between the two wings, stepping up the slope to a glazed entry (photo above, left). This entry sets the proportions of the elevations as the glazed strips emanate from here. They create a datum with the building's long wings dropping down and down from this level towards the golf course.



Another entry is located immediately opposite the main one, on the southwest side. This is high up on a plateau almost on a level with the top roofs. A steep flight of stairs steps down from a simple 'porch' but the adjacent Scots Pine trees really make this a place of drama.



The unrelenting grey concrete panels on this elevation reduce the drama of the pines, incline and sea, surely a trick was missed here by James Stirling.

Overall the impression is of a strong building in terms of programme and site relationship but one that has dated. The tessellation and parti are strong but the poor quality of materials and unfriendly facades let it down.

Comments re this James Stirling building welcome: info@edinburgharchitecture.co.uk



Scottish Architecture

James Stirling : Cambridge History Faculty

Big Jim was born in Glasgow in 1926

St Andrews Building

James Stirling : Clore Gallery London, England



Book: ‘James Stirling Michael Wilford’
published by Thames and Hudson
ISBN 0-500-34126-5

James Stirling building : Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart

Scottish Parliament

Fife Buildings

Architecture Books

James Stirling : Pritzker Prize winner 1981

Buildings / photos for the St Andrews Architecture pages welcome:
info@edinburgharchitecture.co.uk

Andrew Melville Halls St Andrews - Building : page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt