Nuffield College renovation starts onsite
Construction has begun on a £3.3m major renovation project at the Oxford College
MICA’s work at Nuffield College to significantly remodel the Grade II listed buildings to improve accessibility and teaching facilities across the campus.
The three-phase, £3.3 million project will be carried out by contractor Beard Construction and MICA in a collaborative effort.
In the first phase – which is already underway – Beard is building new, fully accessible toilets in multiple locations at the college site.
Phase two will see Beard relocating the main entrance, moving the porters’ lodge to the Worcester Street entrance to the College, where it was originally planned to be, providing more modern and accessible facilities. This will then be followed by phase three, with the existing lodge site transformed into accessible meeting spaces, as well as the refurbishment of existing facilities to create a new 100-person lecture theatre.
The construction team will also be completing major landscaping works to improve access to the ground floor spaces. In addition to raising the paving in the upper and lower quads to the door level, Beard will also be increasing ramped access between the quads.
To meet the requirements of the Grade II listed building and reduce the loss of embodied energy, Beard will be retaining and re-using the old York stone paving slabs.
The project, which is set to be completed next summer, is taking place in a live building. As a result, Beard has split the project into 15 mini-phases to ensure the college can maintain access. Meanwhile, the team has implemented partitions, walkways and fences, as well as a full-time traffic marshal to keep all members of the college safe.
Stuart Cade, Project Director, MICA Architects said: “The team at MICA Architects is delighted to see our transformative scheme for Nuffield College start on site. The far-reaching proposals have been carefully developed with the College, and its stakeholders over several years, and we look forward to working with the skilled and experienced Beard team to bring them to fruition.
“The phased projects marry sensitive conservation with carefully considered contemporary interventions that transform accessibility within the College and provide staff, students and visitors with a new Lodge, Lecture Theatre, communal facilities and newly landscaped gardens. We look forward to the completion and to seeing the exciting new facilities and spaces in use.”
Andrew Dilnot, Warden of Nuffield College, adds: “This project represents one of the most significant interventions made to the College since it was built. The works will radically improve accessibility into and around the main College site and through the refurbishment of internal areas will provide outstanding facilities which will further support the College’s core functions as a centre for research and teaching in the social sciences. We are pleased to see Beard begin work and are grateful to them and the wider professional team on the project for the expert ways in which they are approaching what is a very complex project while also enabling the College’s day-to-day activities to continue to the fullest extent possible. We look forward to the project’s completion next summer.”
To read more about the project click here
https://micaarchitects.com/projects/nuffield-college
