At the heart of Oxford’s historic core, Gilbert Scott’s 1940 New Bodleian Library is a vital resource for academic research. Wilkinson Eyre have recently been appointed to refurbish the library as a new cultural and intellectual landmark. The essence of our concept is an inversion of the traditional Oxford quadrangle, playing with contrasts of lightness and darkness, void and volume. The bookstack itself becomes a simple yet dramatic box, poised mysteriously above a generous public area which permeates the building. The design works with, rather than against, Scott’s robust design, reinvigorating the space with an improved circulation diagram and creating a number of contemporary interventions including a spectacular reading room at roof level, reinforcing the library as a major new research resource for special collections.

Date:

Appointed November 2006

Location:

Oxford, UK

Client:

University of Oxford

Value:

£50 million

Type:

• Cultural,
• Education

Theme:

• Building Re-Use,
• Heritage,
• Interiors

Link:

www.bodley.ox.ac.uk