Dickson Poon University of Oxford China Centre Building
- Status
- Completed 2014
- Client
- University of Oxford
- Value
- £21m
- Procurement Method
- Design and Build
- Services
- Architect Lead Consultant from inception to completion
- Scale
- 5,630m²
Awards
- Civic Trust Awards - Regional 2016 Finalist
The University of Oxford has been regarded as Europe’s leading centre for the study of China for some time. The Dickson Poon University of Oxford China Centre Building completes the second phase of David Morley Architects’ master plan for St Hugh’s College. Its realisation has been made possible by the merging of two aspirations: to provide high quality teaching facilities and student accommodation to cater for the evolving needs of St Hugh’s College and to provide a state of the art facility to house the Centre of Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford.
- Status
- Completed 2014
- Client
- University of Oxford
- Value
- £21m
- Procurement Method
- Design and Build
- Services
- Architect Lead Consultant from inception to completion
- Scale
- 5,630m²
Awards
- Civic Trust Awards - Regional 2016 Finalist
This has allowed St Hugh’s to realise the potential of its land through collaboration with the University in both academic terms and financial terms and to facilitate the kind of collaborative and multidisciplinary work so vital for the China Centre who previously lacked any purpose-built accommodation, suitable to its needs and importance.
A share of the new building, with independent access, now provides a permanent home with the level of dynamism which befits a hub of cross-disciplinary activity, devoted to the study of, collaboration with, and welcome of visitors from one of the most significant economic powers of the world.
The building encourages the mingling of occupants and exchanging of ideas as students and academics circulate via the glazed lift, the helical staircase and the link bridges to the lecture theatres, the library, and the teaching spaces. All of the building’s different learning spaces connect with nature either through views onto the beautifully landscaped College gardens or into the building’s Chinese courtyard garden.
Lecture Theatre
“The China Centre building does an amazing job in serving as a multi-function hub for a vibrant research community, integrating beautiful, naturally lit offices and library space with spacious settings for eating, teaching, and building community. At its heart is a stunning spiral staircase and open courtyard that have become icons of the Centre.”
The building design draws together research, teaching and residential facilities around a sunken courtyard and atrium with a grand stair spiraling around a central glazed lift which culminates in a rooftop cupola. It features a 100 seat lecture theatre, a tea room for up to 200 people, a variety of study areas, a state-of-the-art language laboratory, a roof terrace and The K B Chen library which includes a large part of the world-renowned Bodleian Library’s collection of books on China. In the same building there are 63 study/bedrooms for students of St Hugh’s College, as well as a range of conference and seminar facilities.
Staircase Detail
External Detail
Internal Courtyard
