The circle suggests that everyone is equal and can be segmented in a variety of ways to reflect different parties and groups, like a pie-chart. It also avoids the adversarial atmosphere of two parties throwing insults at each other across a divided rectangular chamber. The European Union Parliament Building in Strasburg is circular as is New Zealand’s Parliament Building in Wellington and Assemblage’s proposals for the new Iranian parliament building included a circular building. Some cruel people may of course suggest that it reflects that governments continually go round in circles…..
To solve difficult problems, the Government Learning Spiral is a respected technique that enables governments to gain access to the latest knowledge, debate and determine options, put them into practice and then monitor and adjust in the next curve of the spiral, mirroring the techniques of progressive industrial and technology companies.
Transparency is sought by all those who seek open government whereby citizens have a right to hold their politicians to account and oversee their decisions and is one of the markers that separates democracy from dictatorship.
Imagine you are an architect designing a School of Government in one of the top universities in the world, how would you reflect these aspects of government in the architectural design? That is exactly what Herzog & de Meuron have done with the new Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University which was completed last autumn and has its formal opening in May this year.
Oxford is a city of dreaming spires and college quads; the precedent for a circular building being the Radcliffe Camera designed by James Gibbs and, when it opened on the 13th of April 1749, was the first circular library in England, interestingly in the same century as revolutions in America and France were empowering the people, providing freedom for the press and moving towards transparent democratic government.
The new School is a bold circular building, with glazing that also reflects the buildings around it, with a spiral at its heart rising through the beautifully-detailed interior with transparent walls outside and in, so that even the academic offices have internally-glazed walls, with also the largest un-divided window in Europe looking across at the Oxford University Press.
The new building will provide a focus for events, many of them open to the public, in their new debating and lecture spaces, and a spiral connecting the open spaces at different levels to support debate, discussion and quiet contemplation with the top floor senior common room level connecting to an external terrace with great views across Oxford.
In a city where the university, like Cambridge, closes itself off too much behind the porter at the College gate, this is a welcome addition to the Radcliffe Quarter, following on from Rafael Viñoly‘s Mathematics Institute which is also designed to allow public access to the lower floors though, in both buildings, democracy only goes so far with a distinct hierarchy of academic office space and separation of staff and students – a missed opportunity to reflect the modern world.
As is to be expected, the building is highly sustainable. Targeted to achieve a BREEAM “Excellent” rating , it should consume 49% less energy than comparative buildings in the UK, with grey water and photovoltaic technology but also rigorous recycling and waste-management policies.
In thinking about the university of the 21st century as a place of transparency, debate and discussion, both within the university and outside, this building makes a welcome contribution. Will the landscaping outside, currently under construction, provide further outdoor spaces to allow that to take place?
