Work will be commencing in the Taylor Institution on Monday (22 August 2011) to begin the process of improving accessibility in this building. The work will be carried out in several stages in order to avoid disruption during term-time. A brief outline of the main stages is given below, and further detailed information together with design and floor plans will be available online shortly.

The first stage is to change the location of the accessible toilet currently in the main foyer; temporary arrangements are being made for those requiring accessible toilet facilities over a period of 2-3 weeks. This relocation is required in order to make space for a new ground floor Library Issue Desk and Enquiry Desk (the latter to replace the existing Porters’ Lodge). It is hoped that the newly remodelled Entrance Hall area will be available for use by the start of Michaelmas Term. However, work on providing an external entrance ramp to the St Giles’ door (which will become the main entrance) may take a little longer.



At the end of August, heavy construction work will commence on the installation of a lift to the right of the main staircase in the Hughes Building. As much of the lift shaft as possible will be excavated and constructed before the start of term, at which point the lift works will be halted until the Christmas Vacation. It is also hoped that work will commence on installing a platform lift to link the ground floor level of the Hughes to the Cockerell Building and, in the basement, to provide additional female and accessible toilet facilities, although the timing of these works is yet to be confirmed.



Space vacated by the Library Issue Desk on the first floor gives an opportunity to provide a new film viewing room and informal study areas, and a number of other improvements will be made to library facilities and reading areas as part of this project.



Clearly this important construction project will cause some temporary disruption to the library and other facilities in the Taylor Institution; however, the work will be carefully managed to avoid disturbance and inconvenience to staff and visitors to the building. The project as a whole should be completed by Easter 2012