The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, part of the University of Oxford, is a building dedicated to arts and humanities. Largely funded by a donation from Stephen A. Schwarzman, construction started in February 2023 and completed in 2025. The centre includes a concert hall, exhibition space, and lecturing and academic facilities.
Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities with the Blavatnik School of Government
In 2019 it was announced that US billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman was providing £150 million to the University of Oxford, to fund research into humanities and the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. This included the construction of a new centre named after Schwarzman.[1]
The building, located in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter next to the Blavatnik School of Government, was designed by Hopkins Architects. The 25,300 sq metre structure is clad in limestone and cream brickwork, which Architecture Today stated fits "comfortably among Oxford’s traditional limestone palette". Construction started in February 2023 and it opened to students in October 2025. At time of construction it was the largest single building project undertaken by the University of Oxford.[2][3] According to the Observer newspaper the full cost of the building was undisclosed, however Schwarzman himself donated £185 million.[4]
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.[5][6] Public access, and events, were planned from the outset.[4] The new concert hall has been welcomed by musicians due to the relative lack of music venues in the city.[7]
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