The Quilt

Adaptive Reuse Theatre 

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This project follows a self-defined brief for theatre in Oxford city centre. 

 

Oxford faces rising inequality. The city lacks free and accessible education for the vulnerable who are stuck in low-wage, low-skill jobs (or no job at all), despite, ironically, being a city rooted in knowledge and education. With my project, I hoped to bring the community of Oxford together and bridge the divide between the disadvantaged and the privileged by providing spaces that upskill and empower. I chose Aspire Oxford as my client: a non-profit organisation aimed at assimilating people facing disadvantage in Oxford, both socially and economically. 

 

I picked Bonn Square as my site due to its central location and nature as an open public square—a symbol of equality and democracy. Following that, I performed a functional appraisal of the buildings on site, and decided to reuse those that I felt provided least value to the Oxford community. By retaining the facades of listed buildings and weaving new envelopes behind and between them, a natural patchwork of materials was created. The level change on Bonn Square also presented the opportunity to create spaces of differing levels, resulting in a variety of spatial qualities, effectively forming a patchwork of light and depth. Sociability, visibility and light form the crux of the scheme, and the human experience leverages these aspects.  

 

Environmental sustainability was also considered early on in the design process, with one of the primary strategies being a ventilation plenum connected to an MVHR system, integrating both natural and mechanical ventilation. A fabric-first approach is also taken—for example, Larsen trusses are used in the external envelope to reduce thermal bridging. The structural strategy for retaining existing walls was also carefully considered, with further exploration into the details of such build-ups.