Powell and Moya: Oxbridge and beyond

In this exclusive extract from Twentieth Century Architects: Powell & Moya by Kenneth Powell, we highlight the work of the practice in the great university cities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Philip Powell and Hidalgo ('Jacko') Moya's success story began in 1946, with the winning of the competition for the Churchill Gardens housing scheme. Responsible for a range of notable public and private structures from the British Pavilion at the 1970 Osaka Expo to the iconic Skylon, they also built extensively in both Oxford and Cambridge, with projects that were symbols of the belated triumph of Modernism at those ancient universities.

The practice of Powell & Moya largely worked within the public sector, with both education and health figuring hugely in its workload. During the 1950s, Powell & Moya became involved with the first of a series of projects for Oxford and Cambridge colleges. Brasenose College occupied a site close to the heart of the city, with the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera and the University church of St Mary as near neighbours. The mid fifties was a period of transition for architecture in Oxford, and Powell & Moya were selected for a new Modernist residential building on a very confined site. An irregular plan was the result, with most of the 32 student rooms accommodated in a four-storey block consisting of two ‘bastions' at the south end of the site. Portland stone was used for the load-bearing walls, with sliding plate glass windows and plentiful use of lead sheet on external surfaces.

Commissions from Christ Church, Oxford, for a more substantial residential building and the Picture Gallery, came directly out of the Brasenose job. Christ Church's outstanding art collection could be safely conserved and shown to the public, in a building whose spare aesthetic is one of bare plaster, stone and tiled floors.

The new addition at Corpus Christi College attempts to blend with the established street scene. Photo: James O Davies © English Heritage

Compared to the work at Brasenose and Christ Church, Powell & Moya's addition to Corpus Christi College, completed in 1969, is a more modest proposition. With 41 study bedrooms, the building overlooks Magpie Lane, but is accessed from the rear; it is seen to best advantage at roof level, where a varied roofscape provides interest.

Like Oxford, Cambridge University had grown substantially, and there was a demand for more residential accommodation.

A covered route, with access to staircases, forms the ground floor of the Cripps Building at St John's College. Photo: James O Davies © English Heritage

The Cripps Building was a major extension to St John's College, with accommodation for over 200 undergraduates, plus eight larger sets for Fellows. The building was designed for a long life, but the college wanted an element of flexibility. Hence, structural cross-walls were dispensed with in favour of a concrete frame with columns (housing ducts) along the perimeter of the building supporting in-situ floor slabs. Externally, the building was faced with Powell & Moya's favoured Portland stone.

Powell & Moya's architectural transformation reflected the rise of Modernism, and pioneered a modern architecture in tune with context and history.

Find out more

Twentieth Century Architects: Powell & Moya by Kenneth Powell is the first ever comprehensive and engaging account of one of Britain's most significant post-war practices, Powell & Moya.

Founded in 1946 by Philip Powell and Hidalgo "Jacko" Moya, the practice succeeded in being at the forefront of hospital design, brought modernism to the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge, designed one of London's most successful post-war housing schemes, Churchill Gardens, and enlivened the 1950s London skyline with the iconic Skylon.

Lavishly illustrated with images from the Powell & Moya archive and stunning new photography, this book is an essential read for architects, students, historians and modernist enthusiasts interested in learning more about one of the 20th century's most successful British practices dedicated to modern thinking and serving the people.

To order a copy of this book, please visit RIBA Bookshops.

Copyright RIBA Publishing March 2009

Additional publications

Also available to buy now from RIBA Bookshops:

Twentieth Century Architects: Ryder and Yates

Twentieth Century Architects: Aldington, Craig and Collinge

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• Ryder and Yates: Twentieth Century Architects
• Peter Eisenman: What makes great architecture?

Selected links:

• 20th century architecture
• Contemporary architecture

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