Heritage Unlocked - Flipbook - Page 31
History as opportunity
Stephen Schwendel Smith
‘Heritage offers
opportunities, not
constraints, and
careful thinking
unlocks a site’s
potential’
I want to discuss some of our work, but
also to talk about strategic thinking, and
the value of an enlightened client.
A good project is only good through
having a good client.
At Magdalen College, Oxford, the
way to unlock the project for a new
College library wasn’t by means of a
single gesture. It was through looking
very closely at the historic fabric. We
couldn’t fit the library into an existing
19th century school, but by extending
out into the quadrangle we could resolve
disabled access and create a
contemporary extension. One of our
solutions to working in this type of
constrained historic environment is to
build a building within the building, so
new elements were slotted into the old
shell like giant pieces of furniture.
For the new library at Lambeth
Palace Library, the project came out of
need as well as a point of crisis. A
collection second only to the Vatican in
terms of its significance was held in a
historic building which was totally
unsuitable for its long term
preservation. So we designed a new
library for the ages: very solidly built,
heavyweight and thick-skinned, which
will protect the collection but also open
up its treasures to the public.
This led to a wider masterplan for
Lambeth Palace, where the Church
Commissioners wanted the Palace
building to be a testbed for zero carbon.
Through a remarkable refurbishment
and decarbonisation project delivered in
five years, we added a new Energy
Centre, restored the Palace’s historic
interiors and achieved a 70% reduction
in energy use.
At St John’s College, Oxford, we
looked at the historic fabric in order to
unlock its potential.
The creation of a new Study Centre
activated the overall College, unifying its
ensemble of buildings and enabling the
restoration of the 17th century
Canterbury Quad aligned with a
rigorous sustainability strategy to
reduce energy consumption now and in
the future.
You almost don’t see the architecture.
Studying in a library is at the very heart
of the student experience but the
arrangement of spaces is also designed
to cultivate wider social connections,
and enhance well-being.
These principles could easily be
applied to a city. A rich civic life depends
on the quality and connectivity of public
spaces. We’re currently working with
All Souls College in Oxford on another
challenging project integrating new
functions into existing historic
buildings. During the Covid pandemic,
the College acquired a row of seven city
centre properties, with the aim of giving
the College a more public presence
directly on the High Street.
This represents a move away from
the ‘traditional’ environment of the
College quad to engage with the public
realm, and situate its scholars in the life
of the city. What this remodelling might
look like is informed by the College’s
past history and future ambitions, as it
consolidates its reputation as a place for
study, discovery and encounter,
cultivating, in effect, a new collegiate
model as well as rejuvenating Oxford’s
High Street.
As with many of our projects, our
proposals are based on the idea of
heritage offering opportunities, rather
than constraints; that the key to a site’s
future lies in its past, in the same way
that the history of an institution seeds
its future evolution.
Opposite: Magdalen College
library was transformed by
adding a free-standing,
three-storey oak structure
within the shell of a Victorian
school
History as opportunity
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