Community building cores in new contemporary buildings of Oxford University

Text: Tímea Deichler, Dániel Jakab

In our present survey we focussed on novelties in spatial organisation featuring three buildings of Oxford University opened in the 2010s. Tendencies in modern education reveal a growing role of community, the share of knowledge, motivation and the continuous presence of inspiration. These processes have brought about positive changes in the hierarchy of education, and thus the break-up of existing borders. Changes in learning activities also influence their spatial requirements. Besides formal spaces of education, there is an ever-growing need for venues of informal education as well, which can be met by widening the halls and passages, reducing interior walls, and structures, creating sort of vacancies. All this makes the buildings easier to facilitate new principles of education, modifications to assist communication and various situations, resulting in spaces liveable for students.