The architectural grandeur of a former Masonic Hall has provided the inspiration for a new sixth form campus for d’Overbroeck’s College in Oxford which features glazing solutions from Senior Architectural System’s Hybrid range.
Designed by TSH Architects, the new sixth form college is located at the site of the city’s former Masonic Hall which dates back to 1823 and which has been sympathetically restored and extended to provide a number of new facilities. The construction materials for the new build elements, which comprise a new sixth form college and separate hall, have been carefully specified to both complement and enhance the existing Italianate Villa style of the older building. Doors, windows and curtain walling from Senior’s innovative Hybrid range, which features aluminium on the exterior to provide a durable and low maintenance solution and engineered timber on the interior for a natural look and feel, provided the perfect solution.
Fabricated and installed by Soundcraft Doors and Windows for main contractor Kingerlee Ltd, Senior’s Hybrid series 3 curtain walling system and Hybrid series 1 windows were installed to give a light and spacious feel to the two-storey teaching building and to provide exceptional views of the surrounding parklands. As well as complementing the existing architecture of the site, Senior’s high-performance Hybrid system also ensured that the required U-values and thermal efficiency requirements were successfully met.
Senior’s Hybrid curtain wall and windows were also installed to the college’s new hall that is adjacent to the main building and which provides dining facilities and a 180-seat auditorium for performance and events. A key challenge, and one which illustrates both Soundcraft’s skill as an installer and the design flexibility of Senior’s Hybrid range, was the creation of the hall’s curved elevation that features a complex faceted curtain wall screen.
To complete the fenestration package, Soundcraft also installed Senior’s robust SPW501 aluminium doors, with an attractive feature of the college’s main building being an attractive 300mm deep entrance door system.
