Oriel College, Oxford Design Competition Reprogramming Oriel’s Social Spaces Expression of Interest 1 ICOMOS Malcolm Reading Consultants Limited T +44 (0) 20 7831 2998 F +44 (0) 20 7404 7645 offi[email protected] Fourth Floor 10 Ely Place London EC1N 6RY © Copyright 2013. All information held within this document is the copyright of Malcolm Reading Consultants and respective contributors. 2 Contents PART ONE Foreword 5 Introduction 6 Emerging brief 7 Key Themes 14 Competition Process 15 Background and Context 16 Teams 23 Budget 24 Dates 24 Next Steps 25 PART TWO Submission Requirements 26 Competition Requirements 29 Anticipated Programme 31 Pre-Qualification Questionnaire 32 Evaluation Criteria 40 Submission Form 42 Declaration Form 43 3 The side view of the entrance portico to the dining hall 4 Part One Foreword Oriel College is looking for an architect-led team to unlock the potential of a complicated series of spaces in the College. The team we choose will display an exceptional understanding of the manipulation of space, function, light and material, and be capable of creating a very special piece of architecture that can stand alongside our rich and diverse built heritage. We do not expect a set-piece addition; instead this will be a sophisticated piece of architectural surgery, repair and construction. But it must be beautiful and enable us to reconnect and remake social and academic connections, as well as providing the College with essential practical facilities and long-term flexibility. These spaces are very much at the heart of the College community – where we meet, eat and socialise. Lifelong friendships are forged and intellectual debates pursued. Over time, ad-hoc additions have left a series of spaces that can appear confusing and certainly do not provide ease of access and operation. We have no pre-conceptions about style or approach, but we will expect clarity, rigour and practicality. The scope of the brief is intentionally wide and challenging and we hope to attract the very best architectural minds to solve our needs. We look forward to seeing your ideas. Sir Derek Morris Provost 5 Introduction Oriel College, founded in 1326, is centrally located on Oriel Square to the south of Oxford’s High Street. Much of the College’s Grade I Listed buildings date from the 17th century, including the elegant First Quadrangle. The site that forms the focus of the Competition lies just beyond this front quad: the wedge-shaped area bordered by the Hall, Chapel and the wall running along Magpie Lane. The area is currently occupied by the kitchens, which were restored in the 1920s. The opportunity exists to transform this series of ad hoc spaces into a key part of the estate that will provide much-needed new kitchens and social spaces, as well as resolve accessibility issues. To deliver this design solution Oriel is conducting an open competition for an architect- led design team. This Expression of Interest document explains the process behind the Oriel College Design Competition, which runs from June to October 2013. It details the submission requirements for selection onto the shortlist. Competitors should note that this is a two-stage process: the first stage is to establish a shortlist, the second to determine a winner. There is no expectation of a final concept design at either stage, but the competition process is intended to draw out creative responses to the competition brief, and evidence of your ability to communicate through drawing is expected. These requirements are set out in the Teams (page 23) and Submission Requirements sections (page 26). The Competition is being run for the College by Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC). Any questions should be directed to MRC; contact details can be found later in this document. 6 Emerging brief The project The challenge facing Oriel College today is to balance successfully the needs and expectations of a discerning and increasingly design-aware student and staff body with the significance and historic quality of its grand buildings. As students look for value, the College needs to ensure that its facilities are of a high standard and remain competitive with those at other colleges. Oriel has seen this particular part of the site (which supports the showpiece spaces) built on in a rather pragmatic and utilitarian way in the recent past. The College Fellows are conscious of their guardianship of the estate and would like to rationalise and re-order the space, which includes the links between the social spaces, the kitchens, bar and common and dining rooms, to create a more pleasing environment for staff and students. The proposed new facilities will be of great benefit to this friendly and highly-social College, as well as a strong asset out-of-academic term, enabling the College’s team to raise the quality of the conference and summer school experiences offered. 7 The site The Dining Hall and bar are located in the east range of the first quadrangle of Oriel College, opposite the main entrance in the west range. The east range dates from the early to mid-17th Century. The elevation is symmetrical with a central portico and flight of stairs to the Dining Hall. As in the monastic tradition, the Hall is elevated a good half-floor above ground level. It is a grand space, with a hammerbeam roof, wood panelling to window cill height and large arched and stained glass windows. A minstrel’s gallery is located to the south end of the Dining Hall above the servery. To the north is a single stepped plinth for high table with an oriel window projecting back into the first quadrangle. The Dining Hall can seat a maximum of 140 students in a College with a student body of about 500 today. The elevation of the east range is largely symmetrical. In the centre is the raised entrance to the Dining Hall. In the right (south) corner is the entrance to the Chapel that is raised a step or two up from ground level, to the southern end of the Dining Hall and at right angles to it. A pair of projecting oriel windows balance either end of the east range at first floor level; the one to the right (south) is a small prayer room off the main Chapel and the other to the left (north) demarcates the High Table to the Dining Hall. The bar sits in the lower ground floor undercroft underneath the Hall and is accessed via a doorway in the left (north) corner of the east range. The bar has a low, vaulted ceiling and probably occupies the original kitchens. The kitchens sit behind (to the east) of the Dining Hall and bar and to the north of the Chapel. Running along its eastern boundary is a stone wall of medieval origin bordering the narrow Magpie Lane. The kitchens as they are today were developed in the mid to late 1920s. They occupy an area within the College that has changed greatly over its long history. 8 East elevation of the main Quad Site location shown on a first edition Ordnance Survey map, 1876 9 This area, which is largely wedge-shaped, was originally a yard to the kitchens, which were most likely located underneath the Dining Hall. Some single-storey buildings have, from time to time, occupied the edges of the site adjacent to the medieval wall and the Chapel’s north facade. A straight flight of external steps rose from this yard up to the Dining Hall above. In the mid-19th Century a two-storey brewhouse and single-storey servant’s rooms were constructed adjacent to the medieval wall to Magpie Lane. These were demolished to make way for the kitchen redevelopment of the 1920s that raised the medieval wall slightly and provided the new kitchen facilities in a single-storey construction, which still functions today. The staircase rising up to the Hall above was internalised at this point and a goods lift added. Servicing to the kitchens is from Magpie Lane through an arched opening in the medieval wall. To the north of the Dining Hall at first floor level, is the old larder, now a dining room for staff. Adjacent to this, again at first floor level, is the Champney’s Room constructed in the early 1970s as further staff dining facilities above the refuse and recycling facilities. A further goods lift is located adjacent to this room. Beyond (to the north) of the Champney’s Room is an electrical substation and building with a mono-pitch roof constructed against Magpie Lane, which contains large walk- in fridges and freezers. Just beyond the north end of site, and fronting the second quadrangle to its east side, is a single-storey brick structure containing lavatories and a laundry. A full site information pack, together with survey information and the brief will be made available to the shortlisted practices at the next stage. 10 High Street Oriel Street Magpie Lane Oriel Square Merton Street Ground Floor Plan First Floor plan 11 The requirements The project is a complex one. On the surface, the requirements seem rather mundane: to resolve and improve the dining facilities, provide a new and modern kitchen to serve the College community and to test whether new student facilities can be provided as part of the development. However, the resolution is anything but. Space needs to be eked out, whilst taking into consideration the restrictions on the extent of the available development volume and a number of further constraints such as servicing, accessibility and heritage. Similarly, recent improvements in the College’s study facilities have a bearing on the project.