Town and Gown

In the fall of 2008, I was given an assignment to create a figure-ground drawing of the city of Oxford. The objective was to show the relationships and differences between the city and the University through the analysis of the negative and positive spaces. It is clear in the above representation where the city ends and the University starts. You can see the open and expansive quads of the University Colleges contrast with the dense blocks of the town.

In December of that year, I was lucky enough to actually travel to Oxford (as I was already in London)! Seeing the space in person gave me an even better outlook on the work I had completed and allowed me to add my personal impressions to a research paper I was already working on.

Here are some insights on what is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever traveled to:

• Oxford was the first higher-learning institution in the world to use the self-governing college system (still in use today!)
• Although the town and university buildings are separated programatically, the overall feeling of the town is sinuous and it is enjoyably walkable (even in the freeeeeeezing cold when I visited)
• Walking around the city you notice different layers of architecture from medieval to classicism to post-modern, giving a really eclectic feel to the experience. This is mainly a result of the residential colleges reforming and expanding over time. Some of the spaces even seem playful or over-dramatic, especially in Nicholas Hawksmoor's design for All Souls College.
• Radcliffe Square and its circular "camera," or library, are a must-see! The differing gothic and classical styles of the surrounding colleges are juxtaposed around a beautiful Baroque central structure. This central area of Oxford successfully achieves a unique form in which stylistic layers of construction mix together to create a historical menagerie of architectural beauty. (Blah- a mouth full, but you really get that impression standing in the space)
• Oxford, as the paradigmatic university town, clearly influenced the creation of other universities such as Cambridge and Yale.

Side note -- Even if you aren't interested in architecture, it is really fun to see the locations that inspired Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter (especially at the grandiose Christ Church College)

Here are a few photos I snapped on my visit! Hope they inspire you to visit too.

Radcliffe Square

Look familiar? (Christ Church College)

All Souls College from the High Street