Magdalen College

An Oxford college quad refreshed by retrofitting a new library within the historic building fabric, providing a significant expansion of workspaces for future generations. Throughout, the architect Wright & Wright embraced the idea of subtle transformation, which underscored the development of the College’s new Longwall Library to create a variety of contemporary study spaces for different ways of working. In addition, the Buckler Building, a former Victorian school, which was itself transformed in the early 1930s to accommodate the College’s original library, was gutted and remodelled, with the addition of a freestanding, three-storey oak clad structure. A new single-storey wing was also added, containing staff offices and a reading room. Previously, there were 48 study places for Magdalen’s 600 students; now there are 120 in various settings, from an intimate attic floor tucked under the ornate Victorian roof structure to rows of window seats in the new reading room overlooking Longwall Quad. Our scope included the supply and installation of internal joinery in all areas of the library and study spaces.