The Making of ... Event

THE MAKING OF THE INVESTCORP BUILDING, OXFORD
Michael Reifer, Frener & Reifer

Zaha Hadid always tried to push the artistic boundaries of architecture, thus challenging engineers and construction companies.
One of her last projects, an extension to St. Anthony?s College, Oxford University, bridges the distance between two historic buildings with a glossy double-curved stainless steel shape. The small but spectacular building was realized in collaboration with Frener & Reifer, a company that strives to advance building technology in research and practice. The nearly seamless freeform steel facade with its electro-polished surface was completely planned, manufactured and installed by the Italian cladding specialist.

Michael Reifer will explain the design objectives that required an unusually precise prefabricated facade solution for the Investcorp Building (a.k.a. ?Softbridge?). He will compare the project with other buildings the company contributed to in the last years and he will talk about technological improvements and his constant efforts to improve the data flow and close the digital chain of design and production.