An Oxford college library gets a makeover courtesy of Wright & Wright Architects
![Stone staircase up to university building](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PDqei9UA2rgNoQtpPQdULK-415-80.jpg)
A 17th century secret passage at an Oxford University college has been transformed into a library by Wright & Wright Architects. The new pale stone building links two existing ancient libraries at St John’s College via the passage, which now houses an artwork along one wall by Kirsty Brooks.
St John’s 600 students needed renovated library and study space, with more seating, desks and shelving. And according to the college’s president, Professor Maggie Snowling, they also wanted more loos, 24-hour access and somewhere to make coffee. ‘They had voted with their feet and were working in a nearby café,' she says.
W&W’s 1940 sq m building gives them a mix of working areas including 120 new desk spaces with Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby’s 2014 Bodleian Libraries chairs, sofas from Cassina and even W&W-designed daybeds. These soft, built-in mattress-like zones are tucked away on one side of the upper floor’s reading room. ‘They’re intended as relaxation areas, so we will see how they use them,' says architect Clare Wright, ‘they have evoked different reactions.'
The architects have designed the furniture and fixtures to be warm and long-lasting. Oak, brass and steel are complemented by desktop surfaces and carpets of rusty red. On the top floor is a seminar room with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, which slide open to views onto the canopies of the nearby trees.
The new study centre and library runs along one wall of the baroque Canterbury Quad and overlooks the president’s garden. To give the president some privacy, no windows look directly on to the garden, but instead artist Susanna Heron has created a cut-stone bas-relief across the west façade. Beneath this is a shallow pool, and ‘sunlight reflects off the water and animates Heron’s abstract wall,' says Wright. She and her partner Sandy Wright visited the Spanish town of Granada, with the Alhambra’s palatial water gardens, to study reflected light.
This, W&W’s third Oxford building, will be followed by a library for Pembroke College.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Clare Dowdy is a London-based freelance design and architecture journalist who has written for titles including Wallpaper*, BBC, Monocle and the Financial Times. She’s the author of ‘Made In London: From Workshops to Factories’ and co-author of ‘Made in Ibiza: A Journey into the Creative Heart of the White Island’.
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Anglepoise and National Trust look to Britain’s coastal landscape for a new blue lighting collection
Anglepoise and National Trust announce their third lighting collection, Neptune Blue
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Dimoremilano opens immersive Marylebone residency around Frieze London 2022
Coinciding with this year’s Frieze London, Dimoremilano has opened an immersive residency at The Invisible Collection’s new Marylebone HQ
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Holloway Li’s debut furniture collection is like colourful candy
Holloway Li presents the ‘T4’ collection of furniture, created in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma and inspired by the designers’ 1990s childhood
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Bill Amberg creates leather furniture in collaboration with the Knepp Estate
London-based designer Bill Amberg has created a series of furniture pieces for the Knepp Estate, Sussex, using leather from the rewilding project's animals for an on-site cafe due to open in 2023
By Giovanna Dunmall Last updated
-
London’s Groucho Club gets a facelift
Transit Studio leads the makeover of London’s Groucho Club – its series of new, refurbished rooms are part of the Soho legend’s ongoing modernisation plans
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Inside Battersea Power Station’s first homes
The first residents have moved into Switch House West, Battersea Power Station’s first completed section
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Iconic Barbican unit refreshed with new art and vintage furniture
A Barbican apartment interior design refresh by designer Oskar Kohnen blends modern minimalism and art with the Brutalist complex's original character in London
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
London family home blends art, craft and bespoke design details
A London family home by interior designer Shalini Misra blends art, craft and bespoke design details in a comfortable yet colourful interior, full of surprises
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated