The site for the new proposals consists of two gardens together with their houses and other related buildings. The general character is that of a well-endowed suburb with trees planted and walls built over many generations. It is entirely different in character from the traditional quadrangles that form the historic heart of the College. The new project should capitalise on this quality of the suburban and garden rather than attempt to replace it with the traditional quadrangle form.
The layout of the rest of the existing College buildings and gardens is characterised by unexpected connections and the element of surprise. As a visitor, you have to know your way about – how the historic quadrangles lead into the main garden etc. Gates in walls, twists and turns, cranked passages all give a memorable quality. Experiencing St John’s College requires exploration, there are ‘secret’ routes leading to visual surprises. The new project provides an opportunity to extend this atmosphere, giving a pleasant, relaxed series of informal garden spaces – café, outdoor terrace, ‘grass you can sit on’, ‘trees you can sit under’ etc.
The largest physical objects on the site are the trees. Most important is the magnificent beech tree that lies on the division between the two gardens. This tree is the focus of the site and encloses a splendid outdoor room. Trees and new buildings compete for the same space and it has been a priority to find a layout that will preserve all the major trees.
The site, and especially the zone of the new route connecting the existing College to the new area, has a number of handsome stone walls. Some of these are medieval and of particular historical importance, others simply add to the strong sense of garden enclosure that gives identity to the area. The new buildings extend the garden architecture or become structures in stone.
The residential accommodation is divided into five discrete building types each illustrating a basic arrangement of study bedrooms. This enables buildings and trees to be close to one another. The result is a sculptural composition of trees and buildings treated as objects of equal value. The painting by David lnshaw shows plant and built objects jostling together like pieces on a chessboard.
In the spirit of the existing routes through the college, a new route through the project starts with the Lamb and Flag Passage and is deflected by walls towards a new common room and studios. At this point a pergola is visible, drawing the eye into the new site. The pergola takes the route into the canopy under the beech tree where there is a shallow conical rise and a circular seat around the base of the tree. It continues past a ‘tree house’ and turns at right angles at the oval tower. It then forms a foreground to the cafeteria and defines the edge of the paving and terrace to be used for outdoor eating. The route passes the entrance to the library, ending at the entrance from St Giles.
Most important to the layout is the interaction between buildings, walls and trees expressed as a freely composed plan geometry.