Nasrin Shah Building Ground Breaking
February 2015
A Ground Breaking Ceremony was held on 25th February for the commencement of the Nasrin Shah Building in Worcester College, Oxford. The event was attended by Beard the main contractor, members of the design team and representatives of the College. The Provost Sir Jonathan Bate and the Client’s representative Dr Afifi Al-Akiti conducted the ceremony, allowing work to commence on the construction of ground works. The building is expected to be completed in late summer 2016. You can follow progress on site by visiting the contractor’s webcam here.
Athletes Occupy Olympic Housing
August 2012
In the run up to the London Olympics, the Athletes’ Village housing block N15, is now occupied with athletes’ preparing for the games. Niall McLaughlin Architects have designed the external skin of the housing block on a ‘chassis’ designed by Glen Howells. The facade samples fragments of the Elgin Marbles, scanned from the British Museum and converted into 3D pre-cast panels depicting galloping horses from the Parthenon Frieze.
Niall McLaughlin commented on the practice’s approach to the unusual commission in Building Design. ‘I was very interested in the principle of the facade being delaminated from the building’s core form. Usually it’s something one tries to swim against to retain a sense of ‘authenticity’, but here we decided to embrace it….I like the idea of setting Ruskin’s conception of the craftsman against the absolute Taylorism of the construction process. Through digital reproduction, these deracinated stones are now doubly lost.’ (Building Design 27.01.2012)