037 031 PROJECT INFO
Architect Nex
nex-architecture.com
Conservation architect Donald Insall Associates
donaldinsallassociates.co.uk
Completion date October 2023
Gross internal area 472m2
Opposite page In the annex, a 1950s mezzanine floor bisected the Gothic tracery, resulting in an uninviting lower level. Here, the ground floor level was lowered to improve the space’s proportions, the windows restored to their full height, and the full width mezzanine replaced with a timber balcony
This page Donald Insall Associates are said to have ‘contributed their own conservation skills in shaping the design development of the project’, with the
collaboration with Nex feeling ‘seamless and enjoyable throughout’
ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE Nex and conservation architect Donald Insall Associates has combined a sensitive restoration with thoughtful contemporary interventions at one of George Gilbert Scott’s most accomplished works at the University of Oxford: the Exeter College Library. Together, they have transformed the library’s study spaces and accessibility as part of the comprehensive refurbishment of the facility. Constructed in 1857, the Grade II listed library is one of several works by Scott at the college. The project is the fruition of four years of collaboration informed by a shared recognition of the building’s historic significance, with Nex leading the overall design vision, new alterations and design coordination, and Donald Insall Associates overseeing the repair of historic fabric, design for the new roofs, and providing heritage advice and advocacy.
The library is arranged as a two-storey range with an adjoining lower annex in an L-shaped formation. Over the years it had become increasingly cramped and dated, and so less
able to meet students’ needs. A priority for the redevelopment project was the creation of additional study space for students, alongside improvements to the building’s circulation, access, environmental performance, and services. Conservation of the building envelope was also badly needed, and Donald Insall Associates oversaw the repair of ashlar walls, windows and roofs, alongside repairs to historic bookcases within the library itself. The library’s new main entrance replaces a door that had opened directly into the reading rooms and resulted in disruption to those trying to study, as well as significant heat loss. Framed by a new arch carved of Clipsham stone to echo the surrounding historic masonry, the new entrance incorporates a draught lobby with WC and locker facilities. A secondary entrance at the north end of the annex enhances flexible movement through the building and provides an emergency exit.
Within the library, Nex and Donald Insall Associates have carefully balanced the retention
and repair of historic fabric with thoughtfully considered new interventions. New clerestory windows within the replacement roof are an interpretation of Scott’s design approach to admitting daylight, based on the ticket hall at St Pancras station in London, which replace a series of unsympathetic rooflights inserted in the 1950s. Elsewhere, steel beams added in the 19th century to reinforce the range floor have been replaced with a new hidden structure, allowing the original ceiling design to be fully revealed once again.
A major part of the refurbishment was finding a solution for the annex wing – a 1950s mezzanine floor that resulted in an uninviting lower level. Nex lowered the ground-floor level to improve the space’s proportions, restored the windows to their full height, and replaced the full-width mezzanine with a finely crafted and sculptural timber balcony. This 14m cantilevered structure extends like a bookshelf balcony to exactly half the width of the room: a daring structural intervention that sits comfortably
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