AIA UK Oxford Excursion - September 2011

Ashmoleum Museum - Renovation by Rick Mather Architects

AIA UK OXFORD EXCURSION 2011 

Friday, 16 September - Sunday 18 September 2011 

On September 16-18, AIA members and their guests attended two full days of walking and building tours in the city of Oxford. In total, there were 32 attendees, including two AIA Continental Europe members. The two days were full of tours to many important architectural sites - historical and modern - such as the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, the Ashomolean Museum, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford Botanic Gardens, the Florey Building, the Oxford Covered Market and St.John’s College, including the recently opened Kendrew Quadrangle. We also enjoyed an afternoon lunch with punting and a gala dinner in the beautiful rooftop terrace of the Ashmolean Museum.

The weekend started on Saturday morning by touring Oxford on foot, focusing on historical sites and several of the colleges within Oxford University. The tours were led by the well-spoken and enthusiastic guides - David Lewis and Jennifer Johnson, PhD students at Oxford. Sites included the Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Square and the University Church,Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church college and New College. We also visited the longest portion of the medieval city wall, dating back to the early thirteenth century. We then continued onto the Ashmolean Museum, which was renovated by Rick Mather architects and opened in 2009 and shortlisted for the 2010 Stirling Prize. The project is a stunning renovation within an incredibly complex building. Patrick Berning and Stuart Cade of RMA led the tour and gave a brief presentation on other projects by Rick Mather in Oxford including Keble College, Queens College Library and Corpus Christi College.

We ended the day at St. Catherine’s College, which is truly a masterpiece of modern architecture. The tour was led by Stephen Hodder, MBE, and Stirling Prize winner in 1996. The original buildings were designed by Arne Jacobsen in the early 1960s and Stephen Hodder’s firm designed the equally gorgeous extension in 2005. The design shows structural rigor and clarity, very similar to the styles of Mies and Louis Kahn. The day was concluded with evensong at Keble College and a lively Gala Dinner at the stunning Ashmolean Museum’s rooftop terrace - also designed by RMA.

On Sunday, we started the day with a tour of the courtyard gardens of Oxford led by James Edgar. Gardens included New College and the world-renowned Botanic Garden. We continued onto the Florey Building, Queen’s college designed by Jim Stirling. The tour and presentation were led by Alan Berman, partner of BGS architects and author of ‘Jim Stirling and the Red Trilogy: Three Radical Buildings.” Our lunch break was punting on the Thames, which was enjoyed by all attendees, even in the rain!

Our weekend concluded with a walking tour of the Oxford Covered Market and St. John’s college. The Covered Market tour was led by conservation officers, Katharine Owens and Sarah Billam. The tour of St. John’s was led by David Lewis, Phd Student and included the historic college as well as the modern Kendrew Quadrangle, designed by MJP Architects.

13 credits were available for the weekend excursion, so in two days, attendees could fulfil over half of their AIA CES credits. The early-bird price of £99 for food and tours proved to be quite a bargain! Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves and the AIA UK chapter is looking forward to hosting its next city excursion in the fall 2012. We welcome all suggestions!

Please click here to view the 2011 Oxford Excursion photos, a selection are courtesy of Toby Cisneros.