Zaha Hadid has completed a new facility for the University of Oxford – a centre for learning Middle Eastern culture, conceived by the architect as a reflective tunnel suspended in room .
The Investcorp Constructing expands the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College – one of the 7 graduate colleges that comprise the UK’s oldest university – offering a new lecture theatre, library and archive.
Zaha Hadid developed the building to look contemporary but to also match the scale and massing of present buildings on the historic campus, from the Victorian-era convent and library, to the 1970s Brutalist-fashion Hilda Besse constructing.
This resulted in a smooth curving type that steadily changes in height, and also turns to steer clear of the trunk and roots of a century-outdated Sequoia tree.
“The task maintains the detached character of the college’s recent buildings, enabling them to be read as separate factors, whilst introducing a modern constructing that conveys the previous, existing and potential evolution of the school, university and city,” mentioned Zaha Hadid Architects in a statement.
“Its style weaves by way of the limited site at St Antony’s University to connect and integrate the existing protected buildings and trees, while its stainless-steel facade softly displays all-natural light to echo the building’s context,” additional the firm.
The Middle East Centre was established in 1957 as the university’s primary faculty for the review of humanities and social sciences in the modern Arab world. For the last 37 years it has been housed in a former rectory at 68 Woodstock Street.
Associated story: Library and Understanding Centre in Vienna by Zaha Hadid Architects
The new structure bridges the gap amongst 68 and 66 Woodstock Street, supplying three over-ground storeys and an additional degree in the basement. Overall, it provides one,127 square metres of additional floor room for the centre.
Mirrored stainless steel clads the majority of the building, making it possible for it to reflect its surroundings. There are also huge expanses of glazing – some sections perform as windows, although other folks have painted backs.
The 117-seat lecture theatre is housed in the basement, along with separate archives for photography and paper documents.
Above this, the more public ground floor accommodates a multi-goal gallery space that can be utilized for informal meetings and research. Glazing surrounds most of this storey.
The initial and 2nd floors are contained behind the stainless-steel facade, housing the majority of the storage, studying rooms and offices that comprise the library. This includes a complete of 26 desks and two,200 square metres of linear guide storage.
Oak-veneer boards are combined with perforated acoustic panels to line the walls in many rooms. There are also 25 skylights across the roof that carry natural daylight into the facility.
The plaza at the building’s entrance is paved with hexagonal granite tiles, while a new lawn doubles as a green roof over the auditorium.
Photography is by Luke Hayes.
Venture credits:
Client: Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Design: Zaha Hadid
Venture director: Jim Heverin
Project associates: Johannes Hoffmann Ken Bostock Undertaking Architect (ZHA): Alex Bilton
ZHA Project Crew: Sara Klomps, Goswin Rothenthal, Andy Summers, George King, Luke Bowler, Barbara Bochnak, Yeena Yoon, Saleem A Jalil, Theodora Ntatsopoulou, Mireira Sala Font, Amita Kulkarni
Structural engineer: AKTII
Mechanical/electrical/acoustic engineer: Max Fordham
Facade supplier: Frener + Reifer
Facade consultants: Arup Facade
Engineering contractor: BAM
Lighting style: Arup Lighting
Value consultants: Sense Value Ltd.
Fire engineers: Arup Fire
Arranging supervision: Jppc Oxford
Forestry & arboriculture consultant: Sarah Venner Accessibility: David Bonnet
Landscape style: Gross Max
CDM: Andrew Goddard Associates
Website prepare 
Ground floor strategy 
Very first floor prepare 
2nd floor prepare 
Basement floor plan 
Lengthy segment 
Brief part Dezeen
