THE DIGI-TECH FACTORY

An award-winning, light and lightweight educational building of exceptional value at £2,600 sqm

FOR NORWICH CITY COLLEGE

The Digi-Tech Factory for Norwich City College is a teaching and learning space that feels more like a professional environment than a classroom. Our work on the new multi-million-pound digital technology hub includes a three-storey building with a sawtooth roofline, wrapped in a perforated screen façade. It has a large entry canopy and covered plaza.

Modern white building with vertical design elements and blue-tinted windows, people sitting and walking outside, cyclist passing by.

INSPIRING SPACES FOR WORK, SOCIALISING & CREATIVITY

A vast central atrium offers more than a circulation corridor, with versatile working and socialising spaces.

The thoughtful designs shift from the standard school-like environment, offering a creative industry atmosphere to energise students and prepare them for future employment.

Modern glass building illuminated at night with a large tree in the foreground, showing people walking in and out.

“A brilliantly simple legible scheme which will last well into the future for its passive adaptability around the central, day-lit, circulation/work area, with direct links to the adjoining building.”

- Civic Trust Awards judges’ comments, Highly Commended 2023

Close-up of a modern building with white metal panels and vertical fins, with a tree partially visible in the lower left corner and a clear blue sky in the background.

LIGHT AND LIGHTWEIGHT

The Digi-Tech Factory houses Norwich City College’s full- and part-time technology, engineering and design courses in one building. Its presence adds to the already thriving digital tech sector in Norfolk and Suffolk by supporting the teaching and research of nearly 500 students, providing experience opportunities to over 100 apprentices and creating new jobs on campus.

Architectural exploded isometric drawing showing multiple floors and structural components of a building in wireframe style.

PARTS ON SHOW

An important part of the building’s overall narrative, the physical relationship with digital technology begins before stepping inside the Digi-Tech Factory. Students, staff and visitors can understand how the building works through its industrial shape, exposed steel work and visible mechanics. This is a physical expression of a ‘part to whole’ relationship which is a fundamental line of thought in computational disciplines and coding.

Modern multi-story building with a white perforated facade, tall vertical supports, and large glass windows, with green trees and people walking nearby.
Modern white building with vertical panels and multiple windows, parking lot with cars, trees, and clear blue sky in the background.
Modern white building with vertical fins and blue windows, four children walking in the foreground, and a large tree on the left.

EXTENDING THE ENVELOPE

The perforated envelope extends to screen an external student plaza, improving physical and visual connections between campus and landscape. This also brings a tactile relationship with the building and its components. The screen provides additional environmental control whilst perforations maintain views in and out of learning spaces and varied effects of depth and shadow across the façade as the light changes throughout the day. 

A digital illustration of an urban site plan, showing a blank plot of land outlined with a red dashed line, a tree on the right side, and nearby buildings in black and white outlines.
Students standing and walking outside a modern building with large glass windows and metal panels, some with backpacks, under a sheltered walkway.
Modern interior space with stairs, glass walls, yellow doors, and people walking and sitting.
Sunlight streaming through large glass windows casting shadows on the white floor.

“It’s lovely in here, I really love it. It’s really modern and spacious. It’s a lot more inspiring to be able to work in this kind of environment.”

– Ellie-Mae (UAL Diploma in Digital Art, Animation and Games Design)

Interior of a modern office with hanging white pendant lights, large windows with patterned glass, and a person working at a desk outside the glass window.
Office meeting room with people working at desks, viewed through a glass wall from a hallway.
A boy wearing a yellow jacket, black and white pants, and sneakers walking down a perforated metal staircase inside a modern building.
Silhouette of a person looking out a window with a patterned glass screen.
People walking outside a modern building with a large tree in the foreground.
Modern building with glass and metallic panels, with tree branches in the foreground.

PUTTING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE

Our studio research around light and materiality underpins the design for a sustainable and lucent learning environment.

Diagram illustrating an LED grow light system with 12 rows of LED panels arranged in a grid, each row equipped with individual controls.
Diagram of a stepped, roof-like wooden structure supported by multiple vertical posts, with an illustration of roof panels and detailed measurement markings.
Infrared or monochrome image of a large grid of vertical lights arranged in horizontal rows, with some lights turned off.
Architectural facade with white perforated panels and blue tinted windows arranged in vertical and horizontal sections.
Modern architectural model of a building with geometric design and perforated metal panels, featuring large windows and a sloped roof.
Modern building with vertical metal panels on a clear blue sky background.
Interior of a modern public building with people walking in and out, featuring white walls, glass railings, and a staircase.
Modern building at night with illuminated vertical windows and blurred pedestrians walking by.
Modern glass building with people walking outside, surrounded by trees.
A woman standing on a balcony inside a modern building, looking upward, with glass and metal railing, and bright skylights overhead.
Modern white building with irregular windows, situated on a grassy area. A woman is sitting on a bench nearby under a tree with green leaves, and the sky is blue with some clouds.
A large tree in front of a modern white building with tall windows, casting shadows on the building, with a clear blue sky above and a few people walking nearby.
Modern white building with large windows, surrounded by lush green grass, trees, and a clear blue sky.
Modern building with vertical metal paneling on the left and wooden siding on the right, with a person sitting on a ledge and another walking away in the background, under a tree canopy.
A person is sitting on the grass outside a modern white building with large glass windows and metal siding, surrounded by trees and a sunny sky.
People standing outside a modern building with large glass windows and a parking lot in the background.
Silhouette of a person carrying a backpack walking inside a building with large glass windows, seen from outside during daytime.
Modern office building corridor with yellow doors, glass railings, and a potted plant, with people walking through the hallway.
A person standing in a modern, brightly-lit office with floor-to-ceiling windows, yellow door frames, and a potted plant, looking outside.
A modern multi-story office building with a glass facade illuminated at night, showing interior workspaces.

LOCATION

Norwich, UK

SIZE

30,967 sqft

AWARDS

/ Civic Trust Award — won
/ RIBA East Regional Award — won
/ RIBA East Regional Client of the Year Award — won
/ AJ Architecture Award, Educational Project of the Year — shortlisted
/ National Constructing Excellence Awards Project of the Year — finalist
/ Façade Awards project of the year — shortlisted

STATUS

Completed in 2021

CLIENT

Norwich City College