Coloured glass fins of the New Oxford University Biochemistry Building, by Hawkins Brown frame views in and out of the building, creating complex and subtle patterns of colour as the light changes. According to the architects the fins reflect the rich red, terracotta, orange, brown and purple of the surrounding buildings though to me they have a refreshingly assertive identity of their own.

The brief from the client was for a creative, interactive building that reflected the changing nature of scientific investigation. New Biochemistry was designed to be a transparent building which allowed views directly into the laboratories. Positioning the labs on the outside of the building allowed the write-up areas to become part of the homely social atrium area.