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I recently visited the Cruciform Hub located in the Cruciform building, opposite the main quad. 

Where to begin with describing this unique building? Some of you may already know that it functioned as the University College Hospital from the early 1900s, and its architecture takes the shape of the St Andrew’s Cross, which helped to partition labs and departments. 

Today, this building continues to house various divisions of medical research at ¹û¶³Ó°Ôº, and the institution has also preserved its astounding arrangements of tiled walls and terracotta archways. Wandering around, I often feel as though the stairways are going to change direction (see any Harry Potter film). But beneath the perplexing labyrinth of rooms and long corridors lives the Cruciform Hub which has a striking and surprising futuristic feel to it.

Entering through the glass walls into the hub, it was like stepping on board the Starship Enterprise. The hub, while very easy to find, also comprised a wealth of suitable facilities for students. These included a help desk set aside in another glass bubble, lockers, bookable rooms for group study and presentations, a large computer cluster, single and communal study spaces in a variety of compositions, copying and printing equipment, extending rows of books bursting off in different directions, services to check in and out library resources, and computers available in a hot-desk style.

In geometric shapes slotted into different corners and crevices of the hub were these great angular desks for collaborative study where students had access to screens and plugs; these spots were somewhat isolated from the dominant study zone. The hall of hot-desk workspaces was sandwiched between two café-style areas with individual desks and seating; this ergonomic setting was a welcomed addition allowing students to tailor the space to their needs.

I was dumbstruck by how much activity this hub facilitated; that there were numerous seminars being held during my visit conveyed just how lively the space could be. Students filled the study spaces, spreading their books and charging cables far and wide, while others exchanged quiet conversation in the spaces in between, which were lined by transparent walls exhibiting medical specimens. 

Just beyond the Cruciform Hub was ‘Doctor Café’ for those essential breaks between study tasks, and there were staff on site regularly to address any study-related queries.