St Andrews, University Of St Andrews, Andrew Melville Hall

A 250-room residences 'settlement' contained in two splayed wings stretching downhill towards the sea: originally envisaged as part of a programme of up to six such settlements, but no more were built. Although the building's general form seems to echo the Scots tradition of splay-planned classical buildings (e.g. Minto House), Stirling's design is also significantly influences by the New Brutalist conception of residential buildings as radiating 'clusters' which, it was hoped, would foster 'community' spirit among the occupiers. Here, 'sociability' was to be encouraged by the wide, glazed-in decks emanating from the central services builing as the apex. The crystalline architecural form, and homogeneous colour, resulted from the decision to set the study bedroom windows diagonally, and to use surface-ribbed precast concrete, prefabricated in Edinburgh and transported to the site. (Fig. 4.10).

Information from 'Rebuilding Scotland: The Post-War Vision, 1945-75', (1997).