{"id":2715,"date":"2025-10-14T12:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T12:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/2715\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T12:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T12:10:08","slug":"wright-wright-completes-passivhaus-library-on-historic-corpus-christi-college-site-in-oxford-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/2715\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright & Wright completes passivhaus library on historic Corpus Christi College site in Oxford | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wright & Wright have completed a new passivhaus library on a historic site at Corpus Christi College in Oxford.<\/p>\n

The Spencer Building is a new special collections centre which consolidates the five-century-old college\u2019s collections of manuscripts and early printed books into a single purpose-built home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Officially opened last month, the 480sq m building is among the first libraries in Oxford to be certified to passivhaus standards and has been constructed in a grade I-listed setting.<\/p>\n

It is bounded on three sides by historic features, the medieval city wall to the west, a listed facade to the east and the College\u2019s Old Library to the south, completed on the northern side with a new limestone facade replacing a 1950s garage on Oriel Square.<\/p>\n

The scheme\u2019s passivhaus design was achieved by placing an airtight concrete bunker against the city wall, harnessing its thermal mass to create a stable, low-energy environment for the library\u2019s collections while freeing the eastern side for naturally lit reader spaces with triple-glazed windows.<\/p>\n

> Also read:\u00a0Wright & Wright completes \u00a340m masterplan project at Lambeth Palace<\/a><\/p>\n

Wright & Wright founding partner Clare Wright said: \u201cExisting elements and conditions were a starting point, not a constraint. The Spencer Building emerges from Corpus\u2019s historic fabric, generating unexpected synergies and introducing sustainable, inclusive and forward-looking spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

A ground source heat pump and photovoltaic panels on the roof combined with a highly efficient mechanical ventilation system have allowed heat recovery and consistent air quality with minimal energy input, with expected heat demand of just 15 kwh\/sq m per year.<\/p>\n

The building contains three reading rooms, furnished with bespoke oak and brass furniture and each lit with natural daylight and with views over the adjacent Garden Quad.<\/p>\n

The scheme has also added step-free access to the neighbouring Old Library for the first time in the college\u2019s 508-year history.<\/p>\n

The project team includes passivhaus designer Max Fordham, cost consultant Ridge & Partners, structural engineer Alan Baxter and main contractor Kingerlee Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wright & Wright have completed a new passivhaus library on a historic site at Corpus Christi College in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-2715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}