“Our proposal for the Library at Magdalen College saves what is best about what is left of the historic fabric, set against our new contemporary design.” 

Clare Wright
Founding Partner at Wright & Wright Architects

The existing Grade II* listed library and quadrangle were designed by Giles Gilbert-Scott and are an adaptation of Magdalen College School originally designed by JC Buckler in the mid-19th-century. 

Wright & Wright has redesigned the building and landscaped the quadrangle, carefully integrating both with a new reading room, which will provide comfortable, up-to-date working environments for Magdalen’s students and academic staff. 

Magdalen College has, over five centuries, extended and adapted to meet constantly changing contemporaneous needs. The works have been of high quality, of their time and sensitive to the context of their site. In this way, Magdalen is an ideal reflection of the assimilation of new and old in Oxford and it is within this tradition that the work to the new Library is undertaken.

Photograph of interior of library under construction: Oxford Archaeology