Greenland Library, Oxford

 

A delightful, respectful restoration that reveals the inherent splendour of the Greenland Library, gifting it a new multi-use space through the reworking of the ground floor cloisters. It also has a renewed sense of entrance arising from the relandscaping of the Deerpark Quad. The process of stripping back the cloisters and lowering the floor, to the newly identified grave tops, lends a continued sense of history. Foldaway bookcases allow for both study and events and an immaculately crafted new stone staircase links cloister and main library. The design process has shaped the space with effortless beauty.