Florey Building, Modernist student residence at Queen's College, Oxford, United Kingdom
The Florey Building is a modernist student residence at Queen's College with distinctive red industrial brickwork and an A-shaped form that houses 74 single rooms. The accommodation units surround an irregular courtyard and receive natural light through large factory-made windows on their east and west facing walls.
James Stirling designed this structure in 1966 as the final part of his Red Trilogy, following earlier modernist university buildings in Leicester and Cambridge. This series of three works became influential in how British universities approached new construction during the postwar era.
The building shaped how universities thought about student housing through its bold modernist design rather than conventional dormitory layouts. Visitors notice how the structure dominates its setting with striking red brickwork that speaks to a different era of campus planning.
The building is viewable from outside with easily navigable pathways around the central courtyard and through the complex. A lift in the central tower connects the four accommodation levels, while glazed bridges between sections provide clear sightlines across the entire structure.
The entire structure sits on exposed concrete A-frame supports at ground level that appear as monumental pillars holding up the red brick mass above. This engineering choice creates a floating effect unusual for buildings of this era and makes the supporting framework as visually prominent as the accommodation spaces themselves.
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