NASRIN SHAH BUILDING GROUND BREAKING
FEBRUARY 2015
A Ground Breaking Ceremony was held on 25th February for the commencement of the Nasrin Shah Building in Worcester College, Oxford. The event was attended by Beard the main contractor, members of the design team and representatives of the College. The Provost Sir Jonathan Bate and the Client’s representative Dr Afifi Al-Akiti conducted the ceremony, allowing work to commence on the construction of ground works. The building is expected to be completed in late summer 2016. You can follow progress on site by visiting the contractor’s webcam here.
A+U FEATURE ON SOMERVILLE COLLEGE ACCOMMODATION
MAY 2014
The Japanese journal a+u has published an account of the practice’s student accommodation for Somerville College, Oxford. The theme of this month’s publication is ‘New Landscapes of Wooden Architecture’ and features an international selection of projects that explore new aspects of wood technology and its potential within cities. The article gives a description on the themes and processes behind the project, placing it within the context of the historic university city and the surrounding Radcliffe Infirmary Quarter.
It is illustrated with working details of the bespoke timber glazing for the stair tower lanterns, as well as the prefabricated timber projecting bay window units for the student bedrooms, with their integral desk and bench seat overlooking the street.
‘We chose to make the glazed elements in the stair towers and student rooms in wood because we wanted them to be like warm lanterns, internally lit in the evening, bringing light to the narrow street…Wood allowed us to make more three-dimensional details…we owe a debt to Louis Kahn’s work at Philip Exeter Academy Library.’ NM