About this talk

Running time: 37 minutes

Julia Barfield founded Marks Barfield Architects (MBA) in 1989 with her late husband David Marks. After losing an ideas competition for a monument for the new millennium, the pair turned entrepreneur and set out to build it themselves. The result was the London Eye (see Genesis Of The London Eye & Beyond and In Tune With Architects), and international fame for MBA.

Here, Barfield discusses MBA's 2015 project for a primary school for the University Of Cambridge. Drawing on extensive research, the design facilitates the latest thinking in primary school teaching methods. With spaces clustered around a central courtyard, it features an open "learning street", a covered external canopy, and artwork that reflects the school's international outlook.

Recorded at Julia Barfield's home in South London, September 2017.