On the 7th November the Oxford Preservation Trust, which is now in it’s 40th year, announced the Nazrin Shah Centre as one of the winners in the New Buildings category. The Oxford Preservation Trust was founded in 1927 to preserve the city of Oxford, England. The Trust seeks to enhance Oxford by encouraging thoughtful development and new design, while protecting historic buildings and green open spaces.
Under the tile ‘Happy Ending’, Jan-Carlos Kucharek has reviewed the Chapel for Ripon Theological College in Oxfordshire. The article reflects on the conversations with the client to develop the design, together with the stories and architectural precedents that worked together to inform the building’s final form. Kucharek writes, “…there’s no questioning the positive effect of McLaughlin’s £2.6m chapel on the picturesque Ripon College, both functionally and aesthetically.” He goes on to describe the elliptical form, accessed on the diagonal between the long and short axes, as “a master stroke.”