Issue 45 Feb 25 web - Flipbook - Page 101
and was most recently used as a garden store and
strongroom. Nex— saw this as a pivotal opportunity:
using the space alongside a gap between the Bodleian’s
buttresses to create a new entrance to both wings of the
Library and inserting a new staircase and lift that makes
the Library fully accessible for the first time.
Great care was taken to integrate this new element within
the Library’s historic fabric: the only external clue to its
presence is a crisply executed cast iron cladding – inspired
by Scott’s leadwork on the College Chapel campanile, and
almost but not quite touching the Bodleian wall. This arrival space works hard – a new lift shaft is nestled behind
an existing stair turret, and new rooflights bring toplight in
while also revealing unexpected views of the building’s
exterior, the neighbouring Bodleian, and the sky overhead.
Client: Exeter College, The University of Oxford
Lead Architect: Nex
Conservation architect: Donald Insall Associates
Structural engineer: Webb Yates Engineers
M&E consultant: Laurence Owen
Main contractor: Beard Construction
Joinery specialist: NBJ Limited
Lighting designer: DHA Designs
Stone mason & conservation specialist: Cliveden
Conservation
Landscape designer: TLG Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
Project manager: Ridge and Partners LLP
Architecture | Conservation | Awar
w d -winning Design
Resea
arch and Analysis | Historic Building Reports | Repairs
Cre
eative Reuse | Feasibility Studies | Options Appraisals
Specialist Consents Advice | Historic Interiors
CDM Advisor | Heritage Management
w w w.donaldinsallassociates.co.uk
@insallarch
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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