The United Kingdom’s oldest university has a contemporary new addition. Oxford University’s Middle East Center at St. Antony’s College has now expanded into the Investcorp Building, a stainless-steel–clad structure that curves through the site.

Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, the tunnel-like building doubles the space available for the center’s library and archives and provides a new 117-seat lecture hall on the lower level. The light-filled ground floor serves as a gallery and meeting space, while the second and third floors include offices and reading rooms.

While the building is a bold departure from the surrounding architecture, Hadid matched the scale of the adjacent buildings, creating a connection between the disparate structures—from a 19th-century rectory to a 1970 Brutalist construction. The design also respects the existing landscape, including a century-old sequoia tree. The building curves around the tree and its root structure, while a drainage system below the foundation makes sure it receives enough moisture.