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3
ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Sixth Former Anna Glik talks about her
Extended Project Qualification:
“I’m
planning to study Architecture at
university so I chose an architectural
topic for my EPQ. Initially, I thought
about writing an essay on Zaha
Hadid, whose work fascinates me:
she uses complex curves and irregular
geometries to create extraordinarily
daring buildings - which are not always
appreciated. During my research, I
came across an article in the
Guardian
by Michele Hanson who reported that
Hadid’s design for the National Stadium
of Tokyo – now abandoned – had been
described as a hairdryer, a spacecraft,
a footbath, a stranded turtle – and a
child’s potty. I was incredibly lucky to
be able to see one of Hadid’s buildings
under construction just down the
road – the new Investcorp Building at
St Antony’s College in Oxford, which
was completed last year. I also visited
a major exhibition of her work at
the Hermitage in St Petersburg. The
more I looked at her work, the more
I felt compelled to design something
of my own rather than just write an
essay. I took a course in the computer
programme ArchiCAD during the
summer holiday and then started
to experiment. Inspired by Hadid’s
curves, I initially wanted to design a
building specifically for one of our oval
Harkness classroom tables, but one
day found myself unable to practise
ballet because the Dance Studio was
in use. I immediately thought about
designing a dedicated Ballet Studio
for St Edward’s. I interviewed our
Head of Dance, Lisa Elkins, about the
discipline’s specific requirements. Ballet
dancers rely on mirrors so although
my first design featured only curved
walls, I had to modify it to allow for a
large flat area. Lisa also explained that
the atmosphere is very important for
ballet dancers. The curved walls make
the building more organic and light, and
the simplicity of the interior allows the
dancers to focus on their performance
without being distracted. In my
building, natural light pours through
round windows in the ceiling, avoiding
mirror-glare from wall-mounted
artificial lighting. In ArchiCAD, many
architectural elements are available
within the programme, and can be
added to a building design, but my
skills were challenged by the need for a
curved bench and barre which I had to
design from scratch. My design is now
complete, and if I ever had the chance
to have it constructed, I would position
it in the Cooper Quad.”
Anna, who was previously at
Moscow Economic School, is
taking A Levels in Maths, Art
and French, and hopes to study
Architecture at University
College London or Bath.
A Different Angle