Tectonics

Tectonics: A Building for Earth Sciences at Oxford documents the design and building of an ambitious architectural project for the Department of Earth Sciences at Oxford University, by a team including Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Pell Frischmann, Hoare Lea, Laing O'Rourke and EC Harris. The book brings together both design and client teams to explain the story of the project, its context and commission, describing in detail the architectural minutiae of the building. The book charts the building's progress from a time when the Department's hub was accommodated in an inappropriate mixture of buildings that, despite being unsuitable for their purpose of housing modern scientific research, created a strong collaborative ethos and spirit amongst its affiliated academics; it was this spirit and sense of belonging, as well as the need for a ground-breaking research and teaching facility, which became central to the design of the project. Located in the University's Science Area--sitting in a confined site in close proximity to numerous listed buildings-- the project was intended not only to meet its functional and academic remit, but also to signal to the wider public the work, interests and concerns of its patrons and users. Tectonics highlights the building's most interesting features, including the 'narrative wall'--acting as the public face for the department--and the atrium 'hinge' which conjoins the laboratory and office wings. Tectonics: A Building for Earth Sciences at Oxford features numerous contextual essays by individuals involved in the project, as well as critical texts on the building's architecture. Contributors also provide personal 'artefacts' which they feel were central to their approach in the process of designing the building, and the structure's users provide anecdotes and narratives to convey the personality of the Department.