Herzog & de Meuron and Laing O’Rourke’s £30m Blavatnik School of Government wins planning permission

 Blavatnik School of Government - Herzog and de Meuron

A new fly-though of a prestigious Oxford university scheme designed by Swiss Herzog & de Meuron has been released.

The Blavatnik School of Government project – which had faced local opposition because of its effect on the neighbouring St Paul’s Church and its surrounding area – won planning permission last week.

It is now set to be built by Laing O’Rourke under a £30m contract with work expected to commence shortly.

The six-storey building is due to house a faculty aiming to train future world leaders.

Funded by Russian-American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik, it will be built on Walton Street in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, which has been masterplanned by Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly.

The building’s stacked, semi-circular design is said to pay homage to the city skyline.

Other firms on the construction team include QS Gardiner & Theobald, civil and structural engineer Pell Frischmann, M&E engineer Hoare Lea and project manager EC Harris.