A new overall design vision for one of George Gilbert Scott’s most accomplished works at Oxford University
Words By Emily Martin
Images By Will Pryce
PROJECT INFO
Architect Nex www.nex-architecture.com
Conservation architect Donald Insall Associates www.donaldinsallassociates.co.uk
Completion date October 2023
Gross internal area 472m2
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.
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
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.
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’
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.
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’
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.
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’
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.
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’
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 within its Victorian context, revealing the dramatic full height of the space, and providing valuable added study spaces for students.
The new staircase help makes the libaray fully accessible for the first time
‘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 office, 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.
The new staircase help makes the libaray fully accessible for the first time
‘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.’
Joinery
Xylotek www.xylotek.co.uk
