Longwall Library

This inhabited bookcase marks a quietly radical development at the heart of Oxford University. Completed in 2016, this library is an extension to and reworking of a Grade II* Listed building, operating at the heart of academic and communal life in Magdalen College. It is pioneering in the fields of sustainable design and engineering - a passively controlled library in an adapted 19th century listed building. The insertion of this inhabited bookcase into the historic shell, together with a plinth- like extension into the quad, accommodates 120 readers in a range of spaces that suit a variety of study-type preferences, as well as group working areas, staff facilities and storage for 3,200 linear metres of shelving.