Former Langwith College, University of York

This university college was built between 1963 and 1965 to designs by the architectural practice Robert Matthew, Johnson-Marshall and Partners (RMJM), with Stiratt Johnson-Marshall and Andrew Derbyshire as the partners in charge, working in association with the CLASP Development Team. The cast relief panels were created by artist Fred Millett. Scott and Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners served as structural engineers, and F Shepherd and Son was the contractor.

Construction and Materials

The building employs a variant of the CLASP Mark 3B system, originally developed by Nottinghamshire County Council for schools and other local authority buildings. The construction comprises a cold-rolled steel frame clad in precast concrete panels finished with exposed Trent River Gravel aggregate. Windows are softwood-framed with aluminium opening lights, including projecting oriels. The roofs are flat and covered with felt.

Site and Layout

The college is located north-west of the contemporary Derwent College and overlooks an artificial lake to the south. It runs from east to west, with a pedestrian walkway forming the main spine along its full length. Three open courtyards are attached to the south side of the walkway, and one to the west end of the north side. The southern courtyards are left open on their south sides to preserve views towards the lake.

The communal and teaching accommodation occupies a one and two-storey central nucleus, whilst residential accommodation is housed in three and four-storey wings at the extremities. At the heart of the service and teaching core is a former foyer (now a café bar) and hall, with a single-storey kitchen block adjoined to the north. A lecture room and seminar room lie to the east, and further lecture rooms and a former library are attached in two blocks south of the walkway. The four residential wings are positioned at the north-west, west, south and east ends of the college. These are long, narrow blocks containing study bedrooms and associated facilities.

External Appearance

The composition is asymmetrical, consisting of a one and two-storey central nucleus and four residential wings of three and four storeys. The treatment of the elevations is consistent throughout. Exterior walls are formed of precast concrete panels with exposed Trent River Gravel aggregate finish, attached to steel box stanchions and beams which support wooden floors internally. A slight variation in texture and projection distinguishes the horizontal floor bands from the vertically set room-height panels. The panels have dry joints with angled drainage channels at their edges and sit on a moulded precast concrete plinth.

The residential blocks feature varied fenestration: narrow, half-width windows; wider, full-width windows with central sliding aluminium lights between top and bottom transoms; one-and-a-half width windows with off-centre mullions; and double-width windows. Most are divided by transoms to maintain a tripartite glazing pattern. White, blue and green vitreous enamel panels occupy the positions of lower subsidiary lights in several windows, adding colour. Projecting full-width oriel windows provide further variety. Entrances at ground level are served by flush timber doors and softwood glazed doors. The main entrances along the walkway have steel-framed glazed automatic doors fitted around 1990 and renewed around 2014, which are not of special interest.

The elevations facing the lake and south courtyards are partly raised over ground-floor pilotis, whilst other elevations extend to ground level. The former library and part of the walkway have wider expanses of glazing, whilst narrow bands of lights form clerestories to the kitchen and the west elevation of the southernmost teaching block. At the north of the kitchen is an entrance raised on pilotis to provide service access for deliveries.

On the ground floor, generally close to the main walkway, are seven sculptural relief panels in cast concrete by Fred Millett. These comprise abstract shapes forming a variety of textures and patterns, illuminated by artificial light at night. They serve the dual purpose of concealing the steel wind braces that support the structural frame.

The blocks have flat felt-covered roofs with extruded aluminium eaves capping. Square timber-boarded roof porches provide maintenance and emergency access. The original eight sharply-pointed pyramidal rooflights over the former dining hall survive, comprising a combination of facetted solid panels and glazing. Elsewhere there are shallow-pitched rooflights. Protective steel rails have been added around the perimeter of some roofs, which are not of special interest.

Covered Walkways

The covered walkways linking the blocks are constructed of pilotis with precast concrete panels forming a fascia to the flat felt-covered roofs, built using the CLASP system. Where they extend beyond the college to meet neighbouring buildings, the walkways are of non-CLASP construction, comprising steel columns supporting I-beams and timber joists carrying a timber-boarded roof with timber fascias and felt covering. These were designed by the main architects in conjunction with architect Dick Howard. They incorporate a central overhead services duct constructed of timber, which carries electrical wiring, television and telephone cables between buildings. The covered walkways extending east to the footbridge over University Road and south-east to Derwent College are included in the listing.

Landscaping

The main pedestrian route is paved in concrete slabs, which continue through the blocks underneath recently-added tiled carpets. Hard landscaping includes cobbled areas and dark blue brick paving, as well as tiered terraces constructed of concrete slabs in the open courtyard at the centre of the south side of the college, which are included in the listing. A timber pergola and decking, and steel handrails, were installed in the north courtyard around the 2010s and are not of special interest.

Former Squash Courts Building

A building housing the former squash courts, now a performance studio, is situated to the east of the college. It is square in plan and constructed of a reinforced concrete frame, externally articulated, within which are blue brick walls. A narrow clerestory formed of ribbon windows and a white eaves cornice is set beneath a pyramid roof covered in aluminium.

Interior

The college has retained much of its original internal layout and floor plan, with some changes in use. The west entrance leads along the main pedestrian walkway, briefly through the west residential block, then passes externally between a north and a south courtyard before reaching the former foyer and hall. The north courtyard contains modern timber decking and pergolas. The foyer has been converted into a café and bar, refurbished around the 2010s; these later fixtures and fittings are not of special interest. Above the bar is a suite of offices, the former senior common room (now a meeting room) and former junior common room (now in general use).

The hall was formerly a dining hall but is now used as a lecture and examination hall. It retains an original parquet floor and a ceiling with distinctive pyramidal rooflights (currently covered). South of the former foyer is a teaching block containing lecture rooms and offices on three storeys, and beyond it the south residential block. North of the former foyer is the kitchen, part of which has been converted to use as an audio-visual centre.

The pedestrian walkway has a gallery over it at the centre of the college. From the former foyer it continues externally past another courtyard opposite the hall, then runs internally between the former library block to the south and a lecture room and seminar room to the north. The former library is on two storeys and now contains computer rooms. On the floor above the lecture room and seminar room are academic offices. The walkway continues from this point, passing a third courtyard to the south and then briefly through the east residential block, before proceeding externally as a covered way towards Derwent College.

The four residential blocks at the north-west, west, south and east (now referred to as Blocks 'J', 'K', 'M' and 'P') largely contain study bedrooms grouped off staircases on each floor, including one and two-person bedrooms and flats. The original heater and washer units and wardrobes, the only built-in items, have largely been removed and the fixtures and fittings within these rooms are not of special interest. The groupings share communal kitchens, largely containing modern fittings, as well as laundry rooms, showers and bathrooms. However, the ground floor of the south block ('K') and the three lower floors of the east block ('J') have been wholly converted to use as academic offices. The bedrooms of the north-west block ('P') have had modern en-suite bathrooms inserted, which are not of special interest.

The former squash courts building, now a performance studio, has a viewing gallery on the east side but otherwise forms a single open space, a partition between the two courts having been removed.

Surviving Original Fixtures and Fittings

Among the surviving original fixtures and fittings are: linoleum floors, flush timber doors and glazed softwood doors, plasterboard or plastic-faced plywood partitions, softwood glazed screens and plasterboard or timber suspended ceilings. The internal staircases have precast concrete stair treads and landing units fixed to steel stringers and landing beams, raking steel balustrades and timber handrails. Some retain the original rubber treads to the stairs and landings.

Exclusions from Special Interest

The following elements are declared not to be of special architectural or historic interest: the music room, the telephone exchange block, the steel roof rails, air conditioning units, the automatic doors, the steel handrails, pergola and modern timber decking to the north courtyard. Internally, the fixtures and fittings within the study bedrooms and flats, communal kitchens, laundry rooms, showers and bathrooms, computer rooms, seminar room and offices, as well as those within the kitchen and audio-visual centre are not of special interest. The café and bar within the former foyer and the hall were refurbished in the 2010s and these later fixtures and fittings, in addition to the disabled lifts, are also not of special interest.