King's Cross Plimsoll Building
Europe
View Project
Oxford Brookes University
- Location
- London, UK
- Client
- Oxford Brookes University
- Services
- Wayfinding
- Sector
- Education
- Awards
- RIBA National Award (2014): Winner, RIBA Stirling Prize (2014): Shortlisted
- Collaborators
- Architect: Design Engine
- Size
- GIA: 24,000m²
A wayfinding scheme that reinforces the architecture’s unifying ambition.
The John Henry Brookes Building was at opening, the most significant construction project in Oxford Brookes University’s history, a 24,000m2 building designed by Design Engine to bring cohesion to a campus that had grown organically over decades. Housing the university library, lecture theatres, student services, the students’ union, and social learning spaces, it centres on the Forum: a 20m-high atrium capable of accommodating 1,000 people that functions as the building’s social and civic heart. Benoy was appointed to develop a wayfinding scheme that could reinforce the building’s unifying ambition, helping a wide range of users navigate a complex, multi-functional environment.
The wayfinding scheme draws directly from the building’s own architectural language and information graphics, ensuring the signage system reads as an extension of the environment. Bespoke pictograms bring character and personality to the sign family while complementing Helvetica, the university’s typeface. The combination of bold colour, graphics, and text reinforces the distinction between academic and social areas, making the building’s different zones legible without imposing a rigid hierarchy. The building won the RIBA National Award in 2014 and was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
