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PROJECTS
RADLEY COLLEGE SOCIAL
ABOUT RADLEY COLLEGE SOCIAL
The £5 million Social Boarding House at Radley College, Oxfordshire, began construction in May 2019. This project entailed the reconfiguration of the Old Wardens House, a structure built in 1935 by two former Radley students. The Old Wardens House is the home of the House Tutor and his family, while also housing separate functional spaces for the Social. The building is a two-and-a-half-storey structure with extensive private grounds on the south and west sides, and open parkland to the north. The new Social, designed to integrate with the existing house, is positioned on sloping ground at the western end and provides residential and communal facilities for five year groups, accommodating 70 boys ranging from ages 13 to 18. Additional staff accommodation is also provided for the Sub-Tutor and Pastoral House Mistress.
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Radley College and Gray Baynes + Shew, the project’s architects, emphasised the importance of the new building not only fitting seamlessly within the existing physical and historical context, but also extending and reinforcing this context. The design principles reflect the college’s long-standing boarding tradition, ensuring that the new building contributes to the cultural and architectural ethos of the school while also responding to modern needs. The project aimed to maintain continuity with Radley’s historic layout while introducing contemporary elements that meet the demands of current educational and pastoral practices.
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The design of the Social Boarding House incorporates a compact form, with accommodation spread over three floors, the second of which is composed of attic rooms. The building follows a distinctive ‘H’ plan layout, generating two implied courtyards—one to the north, which addresses the surrounding parkland, and another to the south, which is the Social’s private garden. The accommodation is housed within two wings running parallel to the existing ground contours, connected by a transverse two-storey link block that houses the Social’s communal spaces. This link block, following the natural slope of the site, reduces the scale and visual impact of the new structure, ensuring that it complements the more domestic scale of the retained Old Wardens House.
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The construction of the new building features a steel frame with a lightweight metal frame inner leaf, while the outer leaf is made of traditional brick laid in Flemish bond. The design of the windows is a nod to the existing building’s traditional wide sash box windows, with aluminium frames and cast stone surrounds designed to resemble ‘picture frame’ windows. The roofs are finished with traditional clay plain tiles and feature hipped ends, as well as flat roof copper dormers. The central link block is highlighted by a low-pitched pre-patinated copper roof, which further distinguishes it from the rest of the building.
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The design of the link block also plays an important role in the building’s overall aesthetic and functional character. Its facades are more transparent, with a higher proportion of windows to walls, creating a light and airy feel that contrasts with the heavier, more solid form of the two accommodation wings. This transparency enhances the legibility of the building’s spaces and fosters a direct visual relationship with the open courtyard that connects the building to the parkland. The design successfully integrates new and traditional elements, ensuring that the new Social Boarding House is both a contemporary and respectful addition to the Radley College campus.