Dot & Line University, 1967
Brendan Woods has generously donated to the AA Archives a set of drawings from his AA 5th Year joint thesis, made with fellow students Stephen Gage and James Potts in 1967. Entitled the ‘Dot and Line’ University (presumably from the novel and 1965 Academy Award winning animation of the same name), the design utilises a space frame which combines public spaces with private offices, teaching rooms, laboratories and other facilities, including a basement sports centre and swimming pool. The only fixed elements superimposed on the grid consist of a system of fire-escapes (featuring spiral slides!) – the other spaces to be constituted through the use of a kit of parts, including swinging, adjustable columns and a partitioning system. The design drawings are complimented by a wonderfully expressive set of A4 sketches which overlay each other on transparent paper. The project is not yet catalogued but is available to view, in person, at the AA Archives.
