Opening this summer, Blue Boar Quad has been completely refurbished and imaginatively altered by the practice.
The building, which was recently listed as Grade II*, was designed by Powell & Moya and completed in 1969. In recent decades it has been plagued by damp and failing building services. The practice was appointed to conduct a feasibility study to determine the causes of these problems and assess options for repair. The team went on to design a scheme to improve the standard of student accommodation. Their proposal to incorporate a lecture theatre into the building enhanced fundraising opportunities and has turned the quad, which had been a major liability for Christ Church, into a valuable commercial and architectural asset. Additional student rooms have been sited discreetly behind the parapet at roof level to preserve the building’s iconic undulating skyline, and they are innovative interventions in their own right. The scheme has improved the student accommodation, enhanced Christ Church’s conference capacity and safeguarded this seminal Modernist building.
The project was recently featured in Building Design Magazine