University of Oxford - Reuben College, Oxford OX1

IOTA was commissioned to design, manufacture, supply and install a bespoke stone-clad planter for the entrance courtyard of the newly-opened Reuben College at Oxford University.

The steel planter is 41 linear metres in length, manufactured and supplied in 21nr. sections, for assembly on-site. The steel planter is made from 3.0mm 1.4003-grade Stainless Steel, a material with significant merit for use in public realm, with a Polyester Powder Coat [PPC] finish to RAL 8019 [Grey Brown].  

The steel planter is clad with 356nr. individual sections of cladding and coping, cut and machined from Woodkirk Sandstone. The cladding was supplied grooved top-and-bottom, and the coping sections were supplied inset with resin anchors – all to interface with the fixing system designed by IOTA. The fixing system also maintains the specified requirement for easy accessibility, allowing for stone sections to be replaced in future [for example, if damaged due to vandalism]. To create a perfect form, the stone sections are not facetted, but were precisely machined to match the radius of the planter.

IOTA was responsible for all elements of the manufacturing design, based on concept drawings by the architects Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp [fjmt studio]. The stone work was commissioned from Hardscape, and the principal contractors were Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd.

Reuben College is Oxford University’s newest graduate college, and was founded with a £80 million gift from the Reuben Foundation. Reuben College is located in the heart of the University’s science area, next to the Pitt Rivers Museum on Parks Road; and it will focus on interdisciplinary research addressing future global challenges, including cellular research [and vaccine development], environmental change, and AI.

Reuben College is one of several projects delivered at the University of Oxford in recent years, including UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD – STUDENT ACCOMMODATION – OXFORD OX1 and UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD – BIG DATA INSTITUTE – OXFORD OX3.