Corpus Christi is one of Oxford's oldest colleges founded in 1517. The building site lies in the southwest corner of the college within a Bastion of the 13th century City wall. The tall medieval stonewalls separate the site from Christ Church Meadows to the south and the Cathedral to the west.

The brief calls for a flexible space to accommodate seminars, 150-person lectures, drama, music, a 40-person round-table, banquets for 60-120 diners and college 'raves'. The new building would form a new 'outdoor' room with the adjacent President's Lodgings - that would provide complementary functions for larger events.

The new building would replace the existing smaller music room and realise the full potential of this precious site but have minimum impact on the college historic garden.

The main room is a flat-floor space of approximately 150m². Retractable seating together with 4 rows of loose seats would provide 150 seats for various theatre arrangements. When the seats are retracted the space is also useable for 40 people in a large table-format, or to 60-100 people around smaller tables.
A skylight above the theatre gives views up to Christ Church Cathedral, and a large picture window opposite gives views back to the trees of the College gardens.

Commenting on the plans, the President of Corpus Christi, Sir Tim Lankester, said,

"This will be the most important new building on the main college site in nearly three hundred years. We had to think long and hard about the range of activities we wished to accommodate and how the new building could complement our existing buildings and gardens within a very compact space. I think Rick Mather has come up with an excellent scheme that is aesthetically pleasing, fits well into our wonderful setting, and will provide a great addition to the college's facilities."