THE SACKLER LIBRARY, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, DESIGNED BY ROBERT ADAM ARCHITECTS

“It must rank as the most notable new building erected in Oxford in recent times”

Professor Fergus Miller, Brasenose College

The new £14m Sackler Library was commissioned in 1997 by Oxford University to bring together four separate libraries to create a major new study centre for the Humanities.  It is the first major university library to be constructed in nearly forty years.  It was completed in July 2001 and was immediately stocked with over a quarter of a million books.

The new library project was made possible by a generous benefaction from the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation.  With the additional help of a number of other anonymous donors the University was able to commission a signature building from one of the UK’s leading classical architects.

Robert Adam Architects promote the principle that the classical tradition is able to take in new ideas.  The Sackler Library demonstrates that real classical architecture is compatible with new technology and that traditional design should advance with the latest developments in science and engineering.

The Sackler Library is an extension to the Ashmolean Museum, a neo-classical building designed in 1845 by C R Cockrell. 

Constructed on an infill site within a conservation area in one of the world’s most historic cities the project is an important exercise in urban design.  The Sackler Library sits modestly behind its neighbours and is seen only in glimpses.  At the same time the building is part of a series of buildings based on a circular geometry in Oxford, including the Radcliffe Observatory, the Sheldonian Theatre and the Radcliffe Library.

The main entrance on St John Street gives access through a narrow passageway between listed existing buildings to a generously proportioned building behind.  The entrance rotunda gives only the slightest hint of the scale of the building that visitors are about to enter.

The library is approached through a graceful entrance rotunda set back from the houses in St John Street.  Visitors enter the entrance pavilion through a giant bronze doors flanked by Doric columns.  The rotunda is a freestanding structure which is a dramatic introduction to the series of spaces which lead to the main library and courtyard.  On entering, visitors discover that the whole pavilion is open to the sky and that a roof constructed wholly of glass, the first of its kind, shelter them.

The main library is located in a large round five storey building which is faced in stucco, with a monumental Doric cornice projecting 1.35m at roof level.  The roof itself supports a copper lantern which houses the plant.

The rotunda is almost hidden behind a terrace of Grade II listed buildings and is revealed in a series of tantalising glimpses from different viewpoints around the building.  The round shape of the main library means that the form and scale of the principal accommodation can be immediately understood without seeing the building in its entirety.

The classical proportions and details of the main library and its entrance are derived from the ancient temple of Apollo at Bassae in Greece.  This building was also the source of inspiration for C R Cockerell, the architect of the Ashmolean Museum.

Adjacent to the library rotunda and across a courtyard from the main entrance is a new five storey building, linked to the Ashmolean Museum, which houses the Griffiths Institute containing the world’s principal collection of Egyptology publications.  On the upper floor is located the new Sands Gallery, a gallery of 20^th century art accessed directly from the Ashmolean Museum.  At the same level as the gallery, the windowless outer wall facing on to the courtyard is adorned by the largest single bronze frieze ever cast in Britain.  It was designed for the Sackler Library by well known classical sculptor, Alexander Stoddart.

At lower ground level the windows are set back to form arches and classical detailing which relieves the austerely elegant façade.