Inside the Headington Hill Teaching Building at Oxford Brookes University
An institutional atrium precedent by ADP featuring vertical timber acoustic/visual screening, integrated bleacher seating, and a grand multi-level spatial section.
- What we like about this project
- A full-scale Formula 1 racing car is prominently displayed on the ground floor level, contrasting academic warmth with high-tech engineering.
Materials
- timber
- plywood
- concrete-floor
- glass
- metal
Visual identifiers
- timber-slat-railings
- stepped-bleacher-seating
- multi-level-atrium
- formula-1-car-display
Style tags
- contemporary
- institutional
- timber-centric
- functionalist
Visual tags
- atrium
- educational
- timber-finishes
- public-space
- circulation
- daylit
- Geometry
- Multi-level vertical atrium with stepped bleacher seating leading to upper circulation stairs, flanked by multi-story balconies wrapped in vertical timber louvers.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with suspended floor slabs and intermediate timber fit-out elements.
- Spatial scale
- Grand multi-story atrium scale; lower ground level accommodates large exhibition objects while upper levels provide intimate walkway bridges.
- Lighting
- Bright ambient daylight entering from high overhead skylights complemented by warm recessed downlights and vertical linear wall sconces along the stairs.
- Atmosphere
- Lively, bright, and welcoming public educational hub balancing warm natural timber with crisp architectural lighting.
- Environmental context
- Interior public concourse of an institutional academic building with high foot traffic and exhibition displays.
- Spatial experience
- Open ground-floor arrival opens into a grand civic atrium where stepped wooden seating forms an amphitheater-like gathering zone beneath layered balconies.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating vertical timber slats on upper railings create a steady rhythmic facade envelope along the atrium edges.
- Style reading
- Contemporary institutional timber interior
- Program
- University teaching building atrium and exhibition hall
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- interior
- Materials
- timber, plywood, concrete-floor, glass, metal
- Visual identifiers
- timber-slat-railings, stepped-bleacher-seating, multi-level-atrium, formula-1-car-display
- Style tags
- contemporary, institutional, timber-centric, functionalist
- Visual tags
- atrium, educational, timber-finishes, public-space, circulation, daylit
- Geometry
- Multi-level vertical atrium with stepped bleacher seating leading to upper circulation stairs, flanked by multi-story balconies wrapped in vertical timber louvers.
- Structural guess
- Steel frame with suspended floor slabs and intermediate timber fit-out elements.
- Spatial scale
- Grand multi-story atrium scale; lower ground level accommodates large exhibition objects while upper levels provide intimate walkway bridges.
- Lighting
- Bright ambient daylight entering from high overhead skylights complemented by warm recessed downlights and vertical linear wall sconces along the stairs.
- Atmosphere
- Lively, bright, and welcoming public educational hub balancing warm natural timber with crisp architectural lighting.
- Environmental context
- Interior public concourse of an institutional academic building with high foot traffic and exhibition displays.
- Spatial experience
- Open ground-floor arrival opens into a grand civic atrium where stepped wooden seating forms an amphitheater-like gathering zone beneath layered balconies.
- Composition rhythm
- Repeating vertical timber slats on upper railings create a steady rhythmic facade envelope along the atrium edges.
- Style reading
- Contemporary institutional timber interior
- Program
- University teaching building atrium and exhibition hall
- Perspective
- Interior Spatial
- Discipline
- interior