Glencar has marked a key construction milestone at Oxford University’s expanding Collections Storage Facility (CSF) in Swindon with a ceremonial slab pour held on Thursday 5 March.
The event brought together representatives from Glencar, Ridge, Bidwells and Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries team, alongside the workforce delivering the project on site. During the event, Richard Ovenden OBE, Head of Gardens, Libraries and Museums and the Helen Hamlyn Director of the University Libraries, who currently serves as the 25th Bodley’s Librarian at the University of Oxford, delivered remarks highlighting the significance of the development for the long-term preservation of the University’s collections.
To commemorate the occasion, Glencar presented Richard Ovenden with a small quantity of ceremonial concrete from the pour, symbolising the foundations being laid for the next phase of the development.
The milestone marks significant progress on the expansion of the prestigious storage facility at South Marston, Swindon, commissioned by Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM). The specialist development represents a major investment in the long-term preservation of Oxford University’s globally significant collections.
The project involves the extension of the existing Collections Storage Facility through the construction of a new climate-controlled storage chamber, known as Chamber 5, alongside the development of a Spirit Collection Store (SCS), a dedicated building designed for the safe storage of zoological specimens.
Once complete, the expanded facility will increase storage capacity for the Bodleian Libraries’ vast holdings, which include more than 10 million books and manuscripts, as well as artefacts from the University’s four museums: the Ashmolean Museum, Museum of Natural History, Pitt Rivers Museum and the History of Science Museum.
Designed to Passivhaus Classic Standards, the new buildings will achieve exceptional levels of energy efficiency and environmental control, critical for safeguarding sensitive cultural, scientific and archival materials.
The development will also introduce a range of specialist facilities to support the care, research and accessibility of the collections. These include new visitor rooms and washroom facilities, a conservation laboratory and working area for the maintenance of fragile materials, and a photography and digitisation studio to support high-resolution imaging and digital archiving.
A secure loading bay designed to accommodate 7.5-tonne vehicles will ensure efficient and protected collection handling, while the new Spirit Collection Store will feature ATEX-rated mechanical and electrical installations and a fume cupboard compliant with DSEAR regulations to safely house zoological specimens.
The main storage chamber is being constructed to achieve airtightness of 0.3 air changes per hour, providing the optimal environmental conditions required for long-term preservation.
The slab pour milestone follows the groundbreaking ceremony held in July, which marked the start of construction and brought together representatives from across the project team.
Delivered over a 69-week programme, construction commenced in April 2025, with practical completion scheduled for August 2026.
Glencar is delivering the project as main contractor, working alongside Purcell Architects, Bidwells, Ridge and Price & Myers, in collaboration with colleagues across Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums institutions.
The development represents a significant advancement in sustainable storage design and reinforces Glencar’s role in supporting the safeguarding of cultural heritage while enabling future academic research and discovery.
Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
