Education
St Edmund Hall Lecture Theatre and Student Accommodation
Forty years ago St Edmund Hall was Oxford’s smallest college with a small quadrangle and access to the outside world through two small openings. The college has acquired adjacent premises (including a parish church) to expand, and the site is now fully occupied by buildings (with the exception of the churchyard).
The limited means of access remains unchanged and has restricted all building works and recent enlargement has taken place on roofs remote from vehicular access making most forms of mechanical handling impossible.
Local Authority approval, internal logistics and finance can lead to projects being developed over many years before construction. The final solution comprised two rooftop extensions, creating a new lecture theatre and Common Room and 12 additional student rooms, and the renewal of the main Wolfson Dining Hall lighting together with acoustic improvements.
The projects were designed to allow for manual handling of all materials within the College premises and contract restraints included working around the occupiers of the buildings without disruption.