St Antony’s College extension by Zaha Hadid

The St Antony’s College library extension by Zaha Hadid Architects, in Oxford, United Kingdom, is set to begin construction at the end of January.

Images © Zaha Hadid Architects

The new library, research center for St Antony’s College, forming a suspended ‘bridge’ between existing buildings – blending built and natural elements to find a coherent form – fronted by a curved frameless glass facade which sweeps above a sunken courtyard area.

“The extension will provide a new library and archive for the Middle East Centre, the college’s facility for the study of humanities and social sciences in the Arab World. Built using stainless steel and glass, the structure will bridge the gap between the centre and a neighbouring college building and will appear from the street as a reflective tunnel suspended in space.”

St Antony’s College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the world — Europe, Russia and the former Soviet states, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, China, South and South East Asia.

The College is located in North Oxford with Woodstock Road to the west, Bevington Road to the south and Winchester Road to the east. As of 2006, St Antony’s had an estimated financial endowment of £30m.