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Bodleian renovation continues

 

The extensive demolition of a large 
part of the new Bodleian Library was 
revealed earlier this week as 
scaffolding came down from the 
Broad Street building site. 
The building has been undergoing 
reconstruction over the past two 
years. This new development gives 
an indication of the change that is 
taking place in the architecture of 
central Oxford.
The New Bodleian, constructed in 
the 1930’s to house a vast and varied 
collection of literature and 
manuscripts, was designed to be a 
fortress and was further reinforced 
during the bombardment of the 
Second World War. While the 
original building adhered to the 
traditional Oxford quad design, the 
new build, dubbed the Weston 
Project, hopes to open up this central 
space and make it more publicly 
accessible. The glass fronted building 
will face out onto Broad Street and 
the Old Bodleian library. The project 
is on schedule, working towards an 
opening for students in Autumn 
2014 with an official opening in 
Spring 2015. It has cost more than 
£80 million, coming from a wide 
variety of sources. 
Whilst the architect acknowledged 
that “the existing building is in one 
of the most historically sensitive 
parts of the city” it appeared that 
there was need for development. 
New reading rooms, research 
facilities and exhibition space will 
be added. With regards to the 
destruction of the building, Suzanne 
de la Rosa, a spokesperson for the 
Bodleian Libraries, said,  “in 
order for us to have the calibre 
of building and the sort of 
spaces that were needed for 
users, staff and collections the 
interior of the building did 
need to be revamped. We feel 
the end result will be a good mix 
of the old and the new.”
She added that refurbishment of 
the New Bodleian building is part of 
a larger scheme to revitalize Oxford’s 
historic Broad Street by creating a 
new public square.
De la Rosa added, “The building 
did not meet current British 
standards in terms of fire protection 
and conservation and that needed to 
be addressed. But that is not the sole 
reason for the redevelopment. This 
was the impetus to get us thinking 
about the kind of libraries that our 
users and Oxford needed and that 
was appropriate for our collections.” 
The new Library will eventually store 
a large proportion of the treasures of 
the Bodleian, including both 
Shakespeare’s first folio and the 
remaining original Magna Cartas, 
alongside thousands of other 
precious literary artefacts. 
The development is not received 
enthusiastically by all students. 
Abdul-Rahman Jama, a third year 
student at Balliol College, stated, “I 
could not possibly care less what is 
happ

The extensive demolition of a large part of the new Bodleian Library was revealed earlier this week as scaffolding came down from the Broad Street building site. 

The building has been undergoing reconstruction over the past two years. This new development gives an indication of the change that is taking place in the architecture of central Oxford.

The New Bodleian, constructed in the 1930’s to house a vast and varied collection of literature and manuscripts, was designed to be a fortress and was further reinforced during the bombardment of the Second World War.

While the original building adhered to the traditional Oxford quad design, the new build, dubbed the Weston Project, hopes to open up this central space and make it more publicly accessible. The glass fronted building will face out onto Broad Street and the Old Bodleian library. The project is on schedule, working towards an opening for students in Autumn 2014 with an official opening in Spring 2015. It has cost more than £80 million, coming from a wide variety of sources.

Whilst the architect acknowledged that “the existing building is in one of the most historically sensitive parts of the city” it appeared that there was need for development. New reading rooms, research facilities and exhibition space will be added. With regards to the destruction of the building, Suzanne de la Rosa, a spokesperson for the Bodleian Libraries, said,  “in order for us to have the calibre of building and the sort of spaces that were needed for users, staff and collections the interior of the building did need to be revamped. We feel the end result will be a good mix of the old and the new.”

She added that refurbishment of the New Bodleian building is part of a larger scheme to revitalize Oxford’s historic Broad Street by creating a new public square.

De la Rosa added, “The building did not meet current British standards in terms of fire protection and conservation and that needed to be addressed. But that is not the sole reason for the redevelopment. This was the impetus to get us thinking about the kind of libraries that our users and Oxford needed and that was appropriate for our collections.” 

The new Library will eventually store a large proportion of the treasures of the Bodleian, including both Shakespeare’s first folio and the remaining original Magna Cartas, alongside thousands of other precious literary artefacts. 

The development is not received enthusiastically by all students. Abdul-Rahman Jama, a third year student at Balliol College, stated, “I could not possibly care less what is happ

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