This campus for South East Essex College of Arts and Technology, designed by architect KSS, is now open to students.


Student body
Student body


The £52m building centres round a charcoal-paved atrium, constructed from ETFE membranes in a similar way to the Eden Project. At the west end of the atrium is a structurally independent pod, sound-proofed to be used as a performance space. Steel-framed dining decks (pictured) form columns rising from the atrium floor. The overall form of the building was inspired by the human body, with the pod representing the lungs, and learning spaces and escape stairs resembling a spinal column.