Reuben College, Oxford
Reuben College is Oxford’s 39th college and is both the first new college in almost 30 years and the first of the twenty-first century. The college is now based in the Science Area on the historic Radcliffe Science Library and the project involved the transformation of the Grade II listed ‘Jackson’ and ‘Worthington’ Wings and the West Wing of the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory.
A number of scientists who worked in this building went on to win the Nobel Prize, including Ernest Rutherford for his work on radio-activity and Dorothy Hodgkin for her work on crystallography.
In June 2020, the college announced the change of name (from Parks College), on receipt of £80m donation from the Reuben Foundation. The building was formally opened on 14 June 2025 (see: Reuben's grand opening).
Two of the more striking rooms are the octagonal ‘Abbots Kitchen’ (an early chemistry laboratory based on a building of the same name at Glastonbury Abbey), and the dining hall. Both buildings are furnished with Luke Hughes Designs’ standard ‘Athena’ folding tables and the ‘LH42’ stacking oak chairs. The solid oak backs of each the chairs are etched with the college arms.
The architects for the conversion were the Oxford based team of FJC Studio.
Oxford Green Award for Reuben College
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