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DYSON: ENGINEERING NEW ENGINEERS
Dyson’s Undergraduate Village became the
latest evolution of its Malmesbury Campus
in Wiltshire, forming part of Dyson’s
£31.5m (NZD$60.5m) investment into The
Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Designed by James Dyson and Wilkinson Eyre
architects, the new spaces provide Dyson’s
growing Undergraduate population with five star
accommodation and a range of leisure spaces.
The Dyson Undergraduate Village is made up
of 63 pods which were inspired by Habitat
67, a model community and housing complex
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Stacked up to
three high, the pods are arranged and angled
in the campus landscape to provide every
Undergraduate with high-quality accommodation
complete with a great view. To create the feel of a
village each pod has its own front door. The lower
ones opening onto the landscaped garden, and
higher ones accessed by pavements on curved
earth ramps.
ABOUT:
THE DYSON
INSTITUTE OF
ENGINEERING
AND
TECHNOLOGY At the centre of the village is the ‘Roundhouse’, a
circular building comprising a café, bar, screening
room and study space. Meanwhile, the adjacent
‘Hanger’ offers a fully equipped gym, multi-sport
pitches, and classes ranging from boxing to
yoga for free all Undergraduates and Dyson
People. Slightly further afield are the various café’s
and restaurants which are led by Joe Croan,
the former head chef at Marco Pierre White’s,
Michelin starred restaurant L’Escargot restaurant
in Soho.
Sir James Dyson said “The Undergraduate
Village is the latest evolution of our growing
Malmesbury Campus. The Dyson Institute offers
a very different approach to higher education
and I wanted the spaces the undergraduates live
in to be similarly different. I was very sure that I
didn’t want this to be bland student accommodation
block, rather an engineered product which
explored the use of novel materials and technologies.”
The Dyson Institute, opened
in September 2017 and is the
first institution of its kind in
the United Kingdom. Dyson
Undergraduate Engineers pay
zero tuition fees, are paid a
salary and work alongside
world-experts in a global
engineering and technology
business. It is more than a job,
and more than a degree. The
Undergraduate Engineers have
access to bespoke teaching
spaces as well as 136 labs
across the campus. Work is
now underway to develop a
further 3,000m2 teaching hub
on the Malmesbury Campus,
ready for September 2019.
22 July 2019