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Investcorp Building of Oxford University’s Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College celebrates 10th anniversary

Inaugurated ten years ago, the Investcorp Building integrates new academic, research and archive facilities within a design defined by the existing built and natural environment of the college. Awarded by the Oxford Preservation Trust, the building also received an RIBA National Award.

“This is a project that demonstrates great virtuosity and a huge amount of technical skill… a superb building which will stand the test of time,” cited the RIBA jury.

“An exquisite little gem… one of the most beautifully crafted buildings I have encountered for a long time,” detailed the RIBA Journal.

The Independent (May 2015): “This is undoubtedly Zaha Hadid’s most intriguing small building, one that she originally described as ‘a soft bridge. And the closer you get to it, the softer it looks, the sky and trees wavering in reflections across its steel skin…

“The building’s unusual shape was dictated by a century-old sequoia tree, and its root system, in the middle of the rectangular site. Furthermore, the maximum height of the four-level building had to align with an eaves gutter on the old vicarage…

“The most remarkable thing about the building is its interior. Here, the high-tech vibe of the steel shell gives way to a series of beautifully crafted interiors – a huge design and construction challenge, given that most of the wall surfaces are curved. The double-ellipse staircase, the cocoon curves of the library, and the absence of any obvious structural “grunt” or fidgety details give the interiors a flowing marshmallow soft quality which is, in places, so gracefully composed that even ‘Disgusted of Oxford’ might pause in mid-harrumph.”