Fletcher Priest Architects' proposed new library building for St Anne's College, Oxford is part of a larger strategic plan for the College. This includes a new catering facility and improvements to the College gardens. The strategic plan will give the College a stronger identity and will incorporate their existing collection of fine 19th and 20th century buildings. The new building connects to the existing listed Giles Gilbert Scott library with a below-ground link and includes reader and seminar spaces, additional book storage and areas for special exhibitions and events.
The existing Woodstock Road entrance to the College is framed by both buildings. Designed for a minimum life of four hundred years, the new library will provide the required flexibility for change, combining traditional construction methods with innovative structural solutions. The external load-bearing walls of locally sourced limestone support an engineered timber roof, configured and orientated to optimise environmental conditions internally. A low-energy strategy in the selection of materials and a tried-and-tested passive design for the internal spaces will give occupants full control of their environment. The project is designed as an exemplar for sustainable university architecture.
The existing Woodstock Road entrance to the College is framed by both buildings. Designed for a minimum life of four hundred years, the new library will provide the required flexibility for change, combining traditional construction methods with innovative structural solutions. The external load-bearing walls of locally sourced limestone support an engineered timber roof, configured and orientated to optimise environmental conditions internally. A low-energy strategy in the selection of materials and a tried-and-tested passive design for the internal spaces will give occupants full control of their environment. The project is designed as an exemplar for sustainable university architecture.