Wright & Wright Architects - St John’s College, Oxford University

Documenting the restoration and refurbishment of Grade I listed St John’s College

For over a decade London based architecture practice, Wright & Wright, have been working with St John’s College, Oxford on an ambitious build project, which included building a new study centre, and restoring and refurbing the Old and Laudian Libraries, as well as replacing all the damaged columns in the Canterbury Quadrangle.

The new study centre was completed in 2019 as part of phase 1 and 2, and I came on board in 2022 to document the final restoration phase of the project. This involved visiting Dunhouse Quarry in Country Durham to capture where the new columns made with Swaledale Fossil stone were quarried and created, as well as several site visits to St John’s College to document the build and interview the many specialists on site working as part of the build team. This project was absolutely fascinating to capture, with many of the specialists being experts in their fields.

Interviews include contractors Jon Brock and Nick Bell from Beard Construction, Alan Burd from stone mason specialists Szerelmey, specialist conservators Madeleine Katkov and Carla Markland from Cliveden Conservation, specialist joiners Daniel Miles and Nigel Betts from Owlsworth IJP, Neil Burke from Neil Burke Joinery and Paul Allison from Dunhouse Quarry. From Wright & Wright, founding partners Sandy and Clare Wright, and senior associate Rita Cadavez.