Oxford’s Architectural Character
Practice day: education sector
12 October 2024
Oxford was our studio yesterday. As a team, we spent the day enriching our understanding of the education sector, studying an array of the scholarly designs around the city.
Members of our team planned and delivered guided tours to the rest of the group, which made for an enjoyable learning day. Packing a 12-hour day full of tours, discussions and workshops, we found it fascinating to uncover certain features of the diverse architecture on show.
What better place?
Oxford, a city of true academic prominence defined by its Victorian roots, offered some really interesting architectural points for our team to ponder. Today, it’s architecture boasts a fusion between the modern and the medieval, the contemporary and the quaint.
“Some of the intricate historical details created an amazing sense of place. But you got this stark contrast with the modern design styles of the Nazrin Shah Centre, Blavatnik School and Schwarzman Centre. Interestingly, you really saw it working within the existing city and the neighboring historic buildings.” — JP Vout, Project Architect.
From sustainability to technology
In small groups, we focused our attention on different criteria — including contextual sensitivity, environmental sustainability, inclusivity, and technological integration. These formed the basis for some excellent, insightful discussions throughout the day, enabling us to share observations on the designs.
Aesthetic appeal derived from functionality
In assessing the health, wellbeing and inclusivity of the buildings, accessibility emerged as a salient consideration — influencing many design solutions we saw.
Some of the most striking features of the designs — in many cases, we felt — were shaped by decisions around functionality, helping to establish more prominent personality.