Original Arts Building 1974-5

This photograph from the 1974–75 Warwick prospectus captures the original Arts Building—now the Humanities Building—purpose-built to support Warwick’s expanding arts and humanities disciplines. From 1971 to the late 1970s, it housed the Philosophy Department, with tutorial rooms designed for small, discussion-based learning that reflected Warwick’s progressive educational ethos. Decades later, this legacy of innovation continues in the new Faculty of Arts Building, unveiled in 2021. Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, its centrepiece is the “tree of knowledge”—a spiralling timber staircase symbolising growth and connection. The building’s sustainable design earned it a nomination for the 2023 Stirling Prize.