Observers quickly recognise that the materials selection for the new Magdalene College library establishes a connection to the historical university campus buildings. While the latter employ wood for ceilings and stone for window tracery, Níall McLaughlin Architects create a different blend of these materials for the new library. Window frames and reveals consist of red cedar, which harmonises well with the handcrafted loam brick from York in northern England. Colours shift from orange-brown to red and purple and define the numerous chimneys that are arranged according to a regular grid. They serve to ventilate the building and support the floor slabs. Each chimney corner reappears in the interior as an angular column clad in brick.