038 PROJECT 2
Above left The new staircase help makes the libaray fully accessible for the first time
Above right The annex again, this time from the balcony
within its Victorian context, revealing the dramatic full height of the space, and providing valuable added study spaces for students. ‘The transformation of the annex wing was
a challenge for a number of reasons [as] little information existed about its original use or interiors,’ explains Alan Dempsey, director, Nex. ‘The wing had been crudely altered in the 1950s with the insertion of four top lights, and a floor that split the interior volume in two with a dark lower level and cramped upper reading room… The building fabric was in particularly poor condition, and we had to remodel the building on a site with no construction access.’ Its approach to the challenge was to transform it completely, by selectively demolishing existing walls and floors to open the full volume of the reading room. The 1950s intervention had also either damaged the building fabric or left a 1.5m sliver of space trapped between the buttresses of this and, adjoining building, the Grade I listed Convocation House. To rectify this the practice opted to fully occupy the gap with small but important functional spaces such as a new stairs, lift, librarian’s ofice, bookstore and plant room. This discreet single-storey structure was key to unlocking the tight spaces of the existing building and improving accessibility; the new staircase and lift makes the library fully accessible for the first time, within the library’s historic fabric, with its only external clue a crisply executed cast iron cladding, inspired by Scott’s leadwork on the College Chapel campanile. ‘It was also important to us to make the ground floor of the reading room flexible for future change of layout, so the space was better if it was column free,’ continues Dempsey. ‘In response, we designed the balcony as a 14m-long solid wood beam that spanned the full
length of the reading room. This gave us a very slender floor depth of 50mm and offered the space to accommodate all the services such as lighting, power and acoustic insulation within the oak lining without compromising head height. Overhead, we replaced the old roof with a new design of clerestory windows that visually reinforce the sweep of the balcony, as much as they introduce light and air into the room.’ Throughout the library you’ll see a series
of new fixtures and fittings, demonstrating a careful fusion of old and new, along with an emphasis on craftsmanship; a nod to a continuing the architectural tradition started by Scott and his peers. Cluttering bookshelves are now replaced with new desks and under-desk book storage, while the oak joinery fully integrates all new services such as heating, lighting, storage and acoustic insulation, as well as a pair of secret doors into two compact behind-the-scenes spaces.
The library’s restored windows contain stained-glass roundels, designed and donated to the college by two of its most famous alumni, Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris (an irony given Morris’s later opposition to Scott’s work). The new light fittings use different types of glass to create different atmospheric effects, echoing the pioneering glass work and craftsmanship of its contemporaries.
‘There is so much of the project we are thrilled with, but it is the distinctive combination of old and new that we’re most pleased with,’ says Dempsey. ‘We have carefully repaired and protected the original building for the next few generations, and in a sense taken out more than we’ve put in to more fully reveal Scott’s building.’ He concludes: ‘Our collaboration with Donald Insall Associates was a true partnership of complementary skills and expertise.’
KEY SUPPLIERS
Joinery Xylotek
xylotek.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133
