Salt Bridges

Few contemporary buildings demonstrate the purpose of their existence as effectively as Hawkins\Brown's newest scheme. Built to bring together lecturers, researchers and students previously based in separate buildings across Oxford's campus, its glass and steel exterior literally reveals the cutting-edge work being done in its interior — challenging the notion that laboratory walls should be opaque and secretive. The building includes an ambitious art project, Salt Bridges, which combines chemistry and design to illustrate the chaos and coincidence that so often shape scientific discovery. This volume features a fascinating critical introduction to the project, photographs of plans and models, contributions from the builder on the construction process, and conversations between architects, artists and scientists at the heart of the building's conception. The story of collaboration between seemingly disparate disciplines makes this monograph particularly appealing to those interested in the relationship between art, architecture and science.