Magdalene College, Cambridge
The new library project at Magdalene College is a new 3 storey building constructed in the Fellows Garden immediately adjacent to a fluvial flood zone. The new building houses an important archive as well as a new library, seminar rooms and a new gallery and social space.
The design makes use of a number of different structural materials; concrete (insitu and precast), load bearing masonry (unreinforced and reinforced), timber (glulam and CLT) and some structural steelwork. Most of these structural materials are on show and form many of the architectural internal finishes. This highly bespoke structure required specialist skills and attention to detail in its fabrication and construction.
The location of the new building had challenging construction access issues as well as the need to set a ground floor level that would not flood.
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