James Stirling (1966)
The Florey Building, tucked away between St Clements and the River Cherwell, is the third in Stirling’s “red brick” trilogy of university buildings (preceded by Leicester’s Department of Engineering and the History Faculty in Cambridge). It was awarded Grade II* listed status in 2009.
Named after the Provost of Queen’s College who commissioned it, the Florey Building is an accommodation annexe for Queen’s students. Supported on 11 concrete A-beams, it takes the form of an incomplete octagon, open on its north side, and clad in red tiles on the outside with wall-to-ceiling glazing on the inner elevation. The top two floors are configured as duplex apartments.
Externally, it’s a truly spectacular building – perhaps resembling a giant cauldron – but is badly let down by its location. Approaching from the rear, the building is jostling for position with the car parks, shops and housing packed in behind St Clements. And the front elevation is mostly obscured by trees growing on the opposite bank of the Cherwell; it’s likely only seen by dog walkers on Angel & Greyhound meadow.
Stirling’s plan was for the creation of a riverside approach from Magdalen Bridge but this vision was never realised. Sadly we can only imagine the impact the Florey would have had had it been located in a more prominent position in the city.
Planning permission was granted in 2016 to add an annexe building and to reconfigure the accommodation; however this work has not started and the Florey currently stands empty pending a decision on its future.
Visiting:
The building is currently closed. View the eastern elevation from St Clements car park; there is a footbridge from the car park to Angel & Greyhound Meadow where the north elevation is visible.
To view the west elevation and the front of the building, walk down York Place to the river front.
Address: The Florey Building, 23-24 St Clements Street, Oxford OX4 1DW
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