Information about this scheme

The heart of St Hilda’s College has been transformed by two new buildings within a reimagined landscape, reconnecting the College with its beautiful riverside setting. The scheme’s success comes from a focus on the lived experience of the College community – celebrating communal life with a sense of identity, place, orientation, and inclusivity. The project meets vital practical needs – including taking a long-term approach to buildings that need to last generations and a robust approach to sustainability – and also emotional needs for joy and delight, refuge and reflection, achieved in the sensitive interface between buildings and nature. The Anniversary Building creates a strong enclosure to the tranquil gardens within the College, whilst a ‘jewel-like’ Pavilion nestles on the edge of the verdant River Cherwell. New planting flowing between the two buildings promotes health and well-being by focusing on connections and a sense of place, bringing the riverside setting into the heart of the College. A new legible main entrance to the college has been created, leading into a shared courtyard and community focal point overlooking the gardens. As well as the new entrance and Porter’s Lodge, the Anniversary Building also accommodates administrative and academic offices, a Middle Common Room and 53 ensuite study bedrooms. An expansive planted roof terrace gives further amenity space with remarkable views across the city skyline. In signalling the new entrance to the College on Cowley Place, the Anniversary Building incorporates a tower – carefully gauged in its height and proportions, so that it is slender yet creates an orientating marker and totem for the College within Oxford. Sitting on the riverbank amidst new planting, the jewel-like Pavilion democratises the enjoyment of its picturesque setting, with a flexible space accommodating a wide range of formal and informal activities. Together, the new buildings offer a range of different types of spaces for people to come together or to be apart, with space for concentration, reflection, and refuge. Individual comfort was carefully considered, with access and views to nature, good quality daylight, acoustic treatments, and minimising glare and overheating. Generous proportions filtered light in key spaces, and decorative elements provide moments of delight. Careful detailing includes the delicate ‘crown’ on the tower or the subtly folded and scalloped façade of the Anniversary Building that creates a play of light and shadow throughout the day.

Judges’ Comments:

“The new anniversary building makes a big impression with its strong massing and external high-quality features and landscape integration.”