new university of oxford building by wilkinson eyre architects

the oxford city council's strategic development control committee has been granted permission for the
university of oxford to build a new department of earth sciences that will house nearly 400 students
and staff. wilkinson eyre architects is responsible for the department's new design which will not only meet
the academic requirements of the faculty and its students, but also be an expression of the subjects which are
taught and researched.

the building is arranged as a simple diagram with a two wings: one with highly serviced laboratories and another
wing of academic offices separated by a stair, the hinge and an atrium. there is a common room and terrace on

the roof which provides a key point for quieter private academic interaction amongst the earth scientists.
the ground floor will act more as a meeting place for public activities and will include a foyer, knowledge
research centre, seminar spaces and undergraduate teaching labs. there is also a narrative wall which leads to
the heart of the building and is clad in linear folded planes of purbeck cap limestone and translucent
laminated glass. as a whole, the shifting striations through the façade can be read as reminiscent of certain
geological features.







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wilkinson eyre architects: http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com

university of oxford: http://www.ox.ac.uk