THE PROJECT
The project involved the creation of a lecture theatre, studio and two seminar rooms. The vision was for an architecturally stunning building that enhanced its setting.
The oak-lattice-ceilinged foyer, precision cut Clipsham limestone, and impressive pleated ceiling are highlighted by copious natural light from the huge glazed elements.
Located within the college’s 13th century gardens and adjacent to the pristine cricket pitch, it was essential that disturbance was minimised.
£9M
CONTRACT VALUE
83 WEEKS
CONTRACT DURATION
Customer
Worcester College
Architect
Niall McLaughlin Architects
Quantity Surveyor
Gardiner & Theobald
Form of Contract
JCT Design & Build
Access restrictions on the site meant mini piling rigs, used to provide the foundations of the building, needed to be sourced.
Two piling rigs were used simultaneously, one for the foundations and another to install the ground source heat pumps which provide sustainable heat for the building.
For the auditorium seating, pre-cast concrete terracing has been clad with porcelain and stone and topped with curved, steam-bent oak seats.
Floor to ceiling fins, comprising a steel frame with a Clipsham stone finish, create strong vertical lines between fifteen sets of acoustic double doors and the high level clerestory windows.
More than 500 tonnes of Clipsham limestone was utilised.
The elegant limestone fins had to align perfectly with the pleated ceiling and the oak lattice.
To maintain the integrity of the design the audio-visual equipment was concealed with speakers built into the wooden panelling and a projector screen which rises from the stage floor.
Niall McLaughlin, Niall McLaughlin Architects
- The stone that overhangs the studio room by 1.9m weighs 2.8 tonne
- The ceiling in the auditorium is one of the main project features, it was inspired by the shape of a fan and is made from glass-reinforced gypsum
- 375m2 of glazed elements allow fantastic views of the college grounds, the cricket pitch and the lake
- The building is on a flood plain so a hit and miss stone wall was constructed to allow the water to flow underneath the building
- The lake was diverted to provide the illusion that the lake emanates from beneath the building
Richard Todd, Contract Administrator, Bidwells
