23rd January 2012
Design Engine Architects has been awarded planning for a new building comprising a variety of academic and pastoral facilities in the heart of Radley College, Oxfordshire.
Design Engine’s £5.3 million scheme has been awarded full planning consent by the Vale of White Horse District Council. The scheme will present a significant milestone for Radley College, now in its 165th year, providing the school with much needed space for its expanded teaching and social facilities.
The new 2,100 sq m development will include: the Sewell Gallery - a space to accompany Radley’s renowned art department, new centralised teaching spaces for the history and politics department, a formal entrance for the design and technology department, and a social space suitable for parent rendezvous, where the students can relax outside of the confines of their boarding houses.
The building will be predominantly built in brick, in keeping with existing stock, with zinc roofs and ‘chimneys’ to facilitate stack-effect natural ventilation.
A double-height forum space and café will face the historic Clock Tower Square. This will significantly improve the environment of the square and the potential of the area as a ‘civic’ space in the heart of the College campus. This elevation references the surrounding brickwork and acts as a link between the majestic Rackets Court and the more domestically scaled Old Fives Courts. The new western façade will provide a covered colonnade entrance to the Old Fives Courts.
To reduce operating carbon emissions, Design Engine has sought to make use of passive energy saving techniques by reducing the energy demand of the building from the outset. The building will be constructed from heavyweight materials to provide a high thermal mass preventing rapid fluctuations in internal temperature in response to changing external climatic conditions.
The site, recently housing the Old Gymnasium, is surrounded by external spaces and a variety of existing buildings dating back to 1885. These include the listed Rackets Court on the northern façade and the Old Fives Courts, home to the Arts department, to the south. Design Engine sought a balance between complimenting the neighbouring, earlier buildings whilst adding a new chapter to the history of the school.
Working with the Conservation Officer, Design Engine has maximised on this rare opportunity to not only fulfil the school’s expansion requirements, but to enhance the quality of the existing historic buildings, restoring and revealing brick detailing and stone cornicing on buildings that were previously hidden by later additions.
Design Engine proposes a contemporary building of timeless quality that will both sit and function in harmony with its neighbouring buildings, creating a welcoming and aesthetically balanced area for both students and visitors alike.
Rodney Graham, Director, Design Engine
“The new addition not only has to respond to the many different conditions set by the remaining existing buildings, but it presents new opportunities to link spaces around the site that were otherwise divided. The project will not only complete the composition of Jackson’s vision of the Grade II Listed Rackets Court but will create a new centrepiece to Clock Tower Square.”
Design Engine is a Winchester-based practice, founded in 2001. They have an extensive portfolio working in all sectors and at all scales; from masterplanning through to interiors and furniture design.
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