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Words:
Jan-Carlos Kucharek
Credit: Oxford University Museum of Natural History

If you wanted to see scales in Oxford you’ve always had to walk through its Museum of Natural History to reach the anthropological oddities of the Pitt Rivers Museum beyond. But you needn’t have gone so far. Above your head in the Museum of Natural History’s main hall, its Irish architects Deane and Woodward were, back in 1861, making their own scales – 8,500 diamond-shaped glass tiles for its roof. Now, as part of the building’s £2m refurbishment, which includes the leaking roof, architect Purcell has used the 500cm2 tiles as a template, putting 10mm Pilkington Optifloat clear glass slumped in a ceramic mould to reproduce them – NOT something you’ll want to do with the contents of any bell jar in the Pitt Rivers.

 

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