Oxford college extension 'awkward' says design commission

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16 June 2008

The proposed extension by Zaha Hadid* to the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College in Oxford has been branded “awkward” and “in constant competition with its neighbours” by CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.

The commission’s design review panel said the three-storey extension, pictured right, needed to be more “sophisticated and delicate” to fit in with the North Oxford conservation area.

Also known as the Softbridge, the three-storey scheme is intended to house a reading room, library, storage space and a lecture hall.

But these ideas too came in for criticism. According to CABE: “It also appears unfortunate to position the archive and reading room behind the large south facing window. We wonder whether full sunlight and overheating could potentially compromise the usability of this space.”

However, CABE admits that the scheme succeeds in “evoking a dramatic landscape,” despite being on a difficult site, but adds: “We do not think a balance between the new Middle East Centre, the context and the adjacent buildings has yet been reached.”

The commission also said that the Softbridge “had the potential to both preserve the individual character of the existing detached buildings, and to have a powerful and independent language of its own.”

In conclusion, the commission said: “While we support the concept in principle, in order for the building to live up to its potential and meet the aspiration of the local authority, the college and the donor, the issues stated need to be addressed before the planning permission is given.”

Neither the college nor the architect was available for comment.

Article by Caroline

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