Laing O’Rourke’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre wins Digital Construction Project of the Year

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities is a transformative project for the University of Oxford and the city of Oxford itself. As the university’s largest capital development to date, the centre now houses multiple humanities faculties under one roof for the first time, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. With theatres, cinemas and exhibition spaces accessible to the public, the building reinforces Oxford’s role as a cultural hub.

A key technical challenge involved the management of more than 5,000 Builders Works in Connection (BWIC) penetrations through fire-rated and acoustic floors and walls. These penetrations, for MEP services, had to comply with rigorous fire safety and structural standards.

Traditional verification methods for BWICs are manual, time-consuming and error-prone, posing risks to programme delivery and budget. The lack of a unified digital process means coordination between design, onsite execution and compliance can be fragmented. This increases the likelihood of rework, delays and non-compliance, particularly in areas requiring fire-stopping and acoustic integrity.

The challenge was further compounded by the need to ensure that what was physically built on site had to be represented in the digital model, requiring precise coordination between multiple stakeholders, including MEP designers, fire-stopping specialists and suppliers.

To address these challenges, Laing O’Rourke implemented a digital-first strategy that transformed BWIC verification into a streamlined, automated process. The solution integrated existing software tools such as Solibri, Power BI, Trimble Connect AR and Field View to create a new structured workflow that linked 3D BIM data to onsite inspections and handovers. This digital thread enabled real-time monitoring and decision-making, risk mitigation and quality assurance throughout the project lifecycle.