There are others who, while recognising in Manchester something more than an emporium of cotton, and conscious that in the great population which surrounds it are to be found the elements of an intellectual life not less eager and effective than its industrial life, are yet of opinion that Learning can find no proper seat beyond her accustomed homes, that the atmosphere of antiquity is needed for her proper cultivation, and that there would be peril in placing on one level the dreaming spires by the Isis 2 and the brand new building in Oxford-street 3.
The phrase the , or that , sweet city of the dreaming spires became an established appellation for the city of Oxford ; it apparently originated in misquotations of Thyrsis , as in this passage from Through the Cotentin , published in The Globe London of Friday 22 nd August Seen across the wide intervening plain, the appearance of Caen was that almost of Oxford as viewed across Christ Church meadows, or, indeed, regarded from the hills leading up to Bagley.
Caen possesses more numerous and more beautiful spires than any other town of northern France, and its ecclesiastical architecture generally is very noble. The term dreaming spires occasionally refers to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge regarded together i. Dreaming spires. The term dreaming spires has come to also denote the sheltered condition of unworldly academics; the earliest instance of this usage that I have found is from The Herald: The National Labour Weekly London of Saturday 4 th September Would it were true.
Quite how the college will best occupy the latter space in a democratic manner remains an open question. In contrast to the inevitably somewhat regimented spatial organisation of the Anniversary Building, with its 60 bedsit rooms handed off a central corridor and ranks of small, medium and large workplaces grouped around a small atrium, the Pavilion is joyfully extemporary inside and out. The scheme consists of two buildings, seen very much as a pair, which have been formed by a serpentine garden space that sits between them.
The larger Anniversary Building redefines the boundary of the college, strengthens the street scene on Cowley Place and creates enclosure to the college gardens. It acts as a hinge point and reinforces the relationship between existing structures on either side to become a ribbon of buildings. Alongside it, the riverside Pavilion is conceived as a lighter, more transparent and jewel-like structure within the landscape, and as a counterpoint to the solidity of the Anniversary Building.
The play of light and shadow across the elevations and into the buildings has been instrumental in defining their articulation and detailing. Decorative metalwork creates a filigree crown to the tower, which acts as an orienting marker and totem for the college within Oxford.
It establishes a dialogue between the college and the other university towers across the city skyline. Jay Gort, director, Gort Scott. The Anniversary Building creates a link between the north and south parts of the site and the two existing buildings, Hall and South.
College life has been enriched by the use of our new spaces. All rooms are fully accessible. The Pavilion overlooking the river Cherwell is at the heart of the college. The new buildings have optimised our riverside setting and with redesigned gardens, they have become embedded into our distinctive green space. Sustainability was key to our vision and reducing polluting emissions from the buildings was an integral part of their design.
Modelled in 3D, slender steel columns were positioned to suit the defined fenestration of the elevations while suitably limiting the global deflections of the structure when subject to variable wind and snow loadings.
Non-structural precast concrete fins formed a key feature of the elevations to provide solar shading. To suit the construction sequence, connections back to the main steel frame were detailed to house concealed fixing points. It was the kind of heater which toasts whatever is within 2 feet of it, but does nothing to warm the air. Added to that, was at the top of the oldest surviving part of the college, dating back to the 15 th century with no insulation in the roof above me.
Through the winter it was freezing! My living room with the useless 2 bar electric fire During my year in college, I learned how to make the most of it. I bought a fan heater which sat next to my bed. I could lean out to switch it on when I woke up and wait for the bedroom to warm up a little before getting up.
Even then it was not unusual to find ice on the inside of the lead lattice windows. I also decided that, as there was no bath nearby, I was going to find the best bathroom in college to use.
I had a huge Edwardian bath, green tiled walls and unlimited hot water. First, I had to obtain a gown and mortar board for matriculation the act of joining the University. Fortunately, there was an easy way to do this. Every student was assigned a scout — an employee of the college who looks after you and cleans your room on the one hand, while acting as eyes and ears for the college on the other. Writing this, I am amazed to find that the system still prevails today.
Gowns and mortar boards are bread and butter to scouts, and provide a handy income on the side as they supply second hand ones for a fee. Gowns also had to be worn at formal dinner each evening, at the main Sunday service in the college chapel and at exams, so getting one was a priority. For men this meant a black dinner suit, a white wing collar shirt and white bow tie topped off by the gown and mortar board. I felt like a stuffed penguin from a cartoon. Gowns were also graded by success and ability.
Scholars and Exhibitioners wore full flowing gowns reminiscent of teachers in the Harry Potter films. Commoners wore something which looked like a half-shredded prop extra for a servant in a Dracula movie.
I was a Commoner, of course. The Matriculation ceremony itself consisted of being marched into the Sheldonian Theatre, listening to a few mumbled words in Latin, and then being marched out again. Was that it, I thought. Class of Brasenose was a fairly small college with about just over new undergraduates arriving each year.
In my first week, during an evening at the college bar, I had a wonderful conversation with a final year student called Henry.
He put this naive fresher at ease and made me feel welcome and listened to. I got to know my fellow Maths students. We were a pretty disparate bunch of people but I formed a lifelong friendship with my tutorial partner Anne. Nick, a friend from Bolton School also went up to Brasenose and through him I got to know the lawyers who were a much more interesting group! I signed up for rowing, much to my regret at 6am on cold winter mornings in the dark.
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