Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College in Oxford, United Kingdom by Zaha Hadid Architects

Article source: Zaha Hadid Architects
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The new library, research centre and archive for St. Antony’s College overcomes strong physical constraints to form a suspended ‘bridge’ between existing buildings – blending built and natural elements to find a coherent form – fronted by a curved frameless glass façade which sweeps above a sunken courtyard area.

Middle East Centre, St Antony's College

• Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
• Name of Project: Middle East Centre, St Antony’s College
• Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
• Client: St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
• Project Architect: Ken Bostock, Johannes Hoffmann
• Period: 2006 – 2013

Middle East Centre, St Antony's College

• Design: Zaha Hadid
• Total Floor Area: 1,200m²
• Site Area: 900m²
• Footprint Area: 900m²
• Associate Director: Jim Heverin
• Design Team: Goswin Rothenthal, Theodora Ntatsopoulou, Saleem A. Jalil, Mireia Sala Font, Amita Kulkarni, Sara Klomps, Andy Summers, Alex Bilton, Yeena Yoon, George King, Barbara Bochnak, Shivani Naidoo
• Structural: Adams Kara Taylor, Max Fordham and Partners (London, UK)
• Lighting / Facade / Fire: Arup
• Cost / QS: Sense Cost Ltd
• Planning Supervision: JPPC Oxford
• Forestry & Arboriculture: Sarah Venner
• Access: David Bonnet
• Landscaping: Gross.Max
• CDM: Andrew Goddard Associates
• Visualisation: Cityscape

Interior View

The Middle East Centre at St. Antony’s College, Oxford serves as a centre for the entire University. At its core is a specialized library and extensive archive. We were commissioned to design a scheme to expand the centre by using a garden plot that links existing premises – complying with the college’s clearly defined vision for future growth and adding formal coherence to the existing quad.

Our intention was to create a less restrictive research environment and improve links between the centre’s academic and social functions. The strong physical constraints imposed by the scale and position of the site demanded a bold and distinctive solution.

Interior View

In response, we conceived the new connecting building as a series of plateaus and territories, in which different academic, research and social functions are ‘signposted’ by the character of the interior space. Form is driven by a series of tension points spread on a synthetic landscape that blends built and natural elements. The new structure deforms and adapts to this environment, revealing paths and flows. The new ‘bridge’ connects existing elements at different levels – its suspension allowing more public aspects to infiltrate the building.

Middle East Centre, St Antony's College

Bridge form and public spaces are linked by a central staircase, connecting to the centre’s main academic components – with contrasts in scale and depth highlighted by the convex or concave form of the reading spaces. Elevating the bridge allows for a more diverse and complex articulation between interior and exterior.

The sweeping form of the bridge is mirrored in the forecourt area where a curved frameless glass façade reveals the public plateau, frames the main access point and cuts across a sunken area, suitable for private reflection.

Interior View

More projects by Zaha Hadid

Tags: Oxford, United Kingdom

Categories: Educational Center, Library, Zaha Hadid

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