Exeter College Cohen Quad, Oxford

Alison Brooks Architects' Cohen Quad project reinvents the traditional Oxford collegiate quadrangle, combining student rooms with teaching spaces in landscaped courtyards. The new 6,000 m² Quad expands Exeter College's campus and features accommodation for 90 students, lecture halls, seminar rooms, social learning spaces, an archive, café, offices, and fellows' accommodation. The unique S-shaped design weaves between two courtyards, connecting internal and external spaces with a narrative route of cloisters, staircases, and garden walks. The central multi-level commons area serves as the social heart of the Quad, while the public spaces are represented by a stone-clad base and student rooms are enclosed by a sinuous stainless steel surface. The distinctive curved roof provides loft study and living spaces, marking the Quad on Oxford's skyline.