This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Blavatnik School of Government’s building, since its opening. Created by architects Herzog & de Meuron, the building won a 2016 RIBA National Award as a “modern cathedral of learning” and was formally opened by HRH The Prince of Wales.
“We wanted a building that would bring people together around a central heart and express the values of openness, transparency and collaboration,” said Professor Ngaire Woods, the School’s founding Dean. “This building, made possible by the vision and generosity of Sir Leonard Blavatnik, is as resolutely modern as our approach to solving some of the toughest governance challenges in the world.”
The Guardian called its spiralling interior “one of the most uplifting spaces built in Oxford in a century” and Calum Miller MP, former Chief Operating Officer at the School noted that “its circular form is embracing: this is a place intended to bring people together and to forge common values and ideas.”
Ten years on, the building continues to play a vital role in shaping the School’s culture of connection and innovation. Reflecting on the anniversary, Professor Ngaire Woods noted that the building allows the School “to innovate on tradition, respecting what is familiar to people, and inspiring them with something new.” She highlighted the oak panelling, stonework, and the mixture of circular and square forms as features that blend echoes of historic Oxford with a strikingly contemporary identity.
Over the past decade, the School has welcomed a talented and diverse community of learners: over a thousand graduates of the School’s degree programmes have passed through its doors (MPP, MSc and DPhil), along with almost 2000 public leaders who have participated in Executive Programmes. World leaders from around the world have come to the School to share their experience with future generations.
