Despite the campaign by The C20th Society, The Cumberbatch Building at Trinity College, Oxford is now being demolished.
Adam was approached by a Fellow at the College to save what he could.
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The Retrouvius team arrived on site to salvage the solid teak doors and screens, modular red pine shelving and a sculptural light fitting.
The building comprised of a ground floor events space (The Danson Room) with three floors of study bedrooms above.
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With its bold form and striking appearance, the building contained some beautiful and distinctive features.The light fitting in the lecture hall is a sculptural feature made with modest modular elements that shield overhead bulbs to offer a warming quality light.
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Every study-bedroom was fitted with an economical modular storage system – one which could expand as needed by the students. We have about one hundred individual sections.
The cupboard and shelf units can be reused in a contemporary space or at home: in kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms or the bathroom.
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In comparison to the ‘one size fits all’ attitude of most new furniture, the modular cabinets suit our changing needs today. Furniture that can grow with a person will stay with that person for life.
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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BUILDING
The Cumberbatch Building was designed by architects Keith Murray and Robert Maguire in 1965. Sadly Robert Maguire died earlier this year – just as his building was under threat of demolition.
In stark contrast to the medieval, classical and neo classical architecture of the surrounding college, this building was of a confident and robust Brutalist form – The Southbank, The Hayward Building and The Barbican in London share a similar aesthetic.
Some believed the distinctive architectural style of The Cumberbatch building added a narrative to the college but others considered it a blot on the Oxford architectural copybook. Attempts to have the building listed failed and it was granted an immunity from protection: the building was decommissioned and demolition began in 2019.
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Images from Retrouvius and RIBA online.