Library Court Development
A little over two years ago the College began to take advice from the City's Conservation Officer, and from a number of architects, to examine the options for improving the College Library. The present student library along the Christ's Lane edge of College is too small to accommodate a sufficient number of readers, and the offices for the staff are dingy and cramped. After some discussion, the Council decided that its preferred option was to demolish the College Library and rebuild it, rather than have a new building at a distance from the Old Library at the front of College. After a thorough selection process, it commissioned Rick Mather Architects to produce a feasibility study. They have worked for Oxford colleges and attracted a lot of favourable publicity for their new extension to the Ashmolean Museum.
Proposed Library Court Development
Planning permisison has now been obtained and we are seeking to raise the £16m necessary to complete the project.
The new building will be much more than a library. Rick Mather's provisional design will provide a building that the College can be proud of. It will boast an improved entrance from First Court, and a variety of study spaces suited to the digital age, as well as meeting rooms and exhibition space. A cafe will be provided by putting a roof over the Court, offering an area for students, Fellows and support staff to meet.
The feasibility study by Rick Mather Architects is available here. There is also an article in the 2010 edition of The Magazine, beginning on page 17.
For further information about the project, please contact Catherine Twilley, Development Director.