01-04-2025 13:33 via theguardian.com

A tower topped with a pangolin! The Oxford university building inspired by Tolkien … and the pandemic

A chubby, rhubarb and custard-coloured tower bedecked with anteaters and moles make a fun neighbour to the city’s dreaming spires. It’s left some locals lost for wordsA carved stone pangolin clings to the top of the tower, its scaly tail curled into the crevice of a cornice, as if holding on for dear life. It crowns an arresting arrival to Oxford, the city of dreaming spires, the anteater taking its place on this skyline of slender steeples and gurning gargoyles, up there at the summ
Read more »

Architecture news



‘It’s unjust’: charity fights to save UK’s at-risk modern buildings
Lewis Braithwaite obituary
‘Something to be proud of’: how an Irish town got a sewage makeover – and stopped discharging its waste into the sea
‘Cathedral of crap’: is this the world’s most beautiful sewage treatment plant?
John McNeill obituary
March design news: Maurzio Cattelan goes Greek, art teapots and house paint that changes colour
For whom the bell tolls: hunt for missing piece of Shrewsbury’s industrial history
How the architect who made modern Brisbane shaped the city’s 2032 Olympics stadium plans
How the architect who made modern Brisbane shaped the city’s 2032 Olympics stadium plans
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style review – lidos, Speedos and atomic bombs
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style review – lidos, Speedos and atomic bombs
Take the roof off: outside meets inside in a radically artistic Italian home
Take the roof off: outside meets inside in a radically artistic Italian home
Gold leaf and Gatsby: Brussels lays claim to birth of art deco with year of celebrations
Gold leaf and Gatsby: Brussels lays claim to birth of art deco with year of celebrations
Fears for Bagan’s towering Buddhist temples after Myanmar earthquake
Fears for Bagan’s towering Buddhist temples after Myanmar earthquake
‘No more velvet rope’: how New York’s beloved Frick museum opened up – and will now even sell coffee
‘No more velvet rope’: how New York’s beloved Frick museum opened up – and will now even sell coffee
The battle for Glasgow’s Wyndford estate – photo essay
The battle for Glasgow’s Wyndford estate – photo essay
Desktop versie