About the Client

The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. Evidence points to teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second-oldest university in continuous operation.

In February 2023 construction started on the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, a building dedicated to both arts and humanities. The building was built within the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, on the site of the old Radcliffe Hospital, next to the Blavatnik School of Government, Somerville College and the Radcliffe Observatory.

Completed in 2025, the centre houses a concert hall, lecture and exhibition spaces, rehearsal rooms, libraries, and academic faculties including English, History, Music, Philosophy, and the new Institute for Ethics in AI.

The Requirement:

During the development of the new building, Hopkins architects consulted academics, librarians, students and staff, in order to ascertain the many uses, and faculties that the new building would house. The single building would contain departments that were previously dispersed across 26 buildings and six Bodleian libraries.

For the construction the Oxford team chose Laing O’Rourke and Southerns Broadstock were subsequently chosen for the interior fit-out. The university understood the importance of this new building, and the interiors needed to be finished to the highest quality standards, with no expense spared. The libraries in particular were vital to the building and its function, providing access for students to thousands of academic works.

Quest Joinery (Quest) were the skilled cabinet makers chosen to implement the vast swathes of timberwork, including the library areas and it was via Quest that Rackline was initially involved, suppling our time tested Pro-Libero system. This library focused shelving was perfect for their needs; strong, hard wearing and capable of being invisibly clad in oak.

After seeing the Rackline shelving systems for the library areas, Southerns Broadstock approached Rackline to supply further shelving systems for the music stores, academic offices and general storage areas.

The Solution

The initial works undertaken involved the Rackline teams working closely with Quest Joinery to supply a range of library shelving to fit out the library areas. These libraries were spread across several floors and needed to match and complement the quality aesthetic of the building.

The systems provided needed to be hard wearing, aesthetically pleasing and be compatible with the timber cladding that was to be fitted by Quest. Rackline’s Pro-Libero system was ideal for this, allowing the timber panels to be invisibly fitted to the shelves.

Rackline supplied shelves at 250 and 350mm deep in different areas, in multiple widths, and double and single sided units. In total the library areas of the building took around 3500 linear meters of shelving.

When it came to the offices and store areas, Rackline supplied Southerns Broadstock with a few different systems:

• Pro-Libero shelving, this time un-clad was used extensively in the office areas, perfect for the storage of academic materials and general office items.
• Within General Storage areas, again Pro-Libero showed its flexibility, providing strong, reliable storage for a range of items. This was combined with Prospan in some areas to provide even more strength and long spans.
• Speedrax medium duty shelving was used within the music stores, holding instruments and other bulky items.

These different systems combined to provide storage for students, academics and staff only areas of the building.

The Result:

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is a truly impressive building, finished to extremely high level.

Library

The libraries within the building are warm and welcoming, with the timber clad shelving providing secure storage of books, journals and music. The installed shelving provided capacity that exceeded their requirements and provides for many years of expansion.

Music Department

Together with the music stored within the libraries (on Pro-Libero), the instrument storage areas are designed to hold a vast variety of instruments and equipment. All the instruments and even the bulkiest of items are kept safe and secure.

Offices

The offices boast wall shelves with enough capacity for the vast collections of books and academic materials held by the staff. The flexible system allows them to be reconfigured to meet their existing and future requirements.

General Storage areas

Seemingly behind every door there is a Rackline shelving system holding items. From cleaning cupboards full of materials to keep the vast building spotless, to stationary and I.T equipment, Rackline systems keep these items safe and secure.

Find out more.

If you are an architect looking to partner on a project, or an education provider looking for the perfect storage solutions for your premises, then get in touch on 01782 770144, email us on info@rackline.co.uk or fill in the form below.

Our consultant team can visit your site, examine your space and recommend solutions that both maximise capacity and efficiency within your storage areas.