The Site is situated at a street corner, where a significant thoroughfare into the centre of Oxford, Iffley Road, is intersected by a smaller tributary, Percy Road.  It encompasses the existing, 3-storey, Victorian town house, no. 263, and a connecting collection of more recently added, single-storey extensions and sheds that house the facilities for the Gladiator Club.

The scheme consists of a new building attached to the existing Victorian townhouse, no. 263. The entire ground floor of the new build is given over to the provision of club facilities. The club’s main access is by way of the prominent ground floor corner entrance.

The first and second floors accommodate 7 flats: 4no 2 bedroom and 3no 1 bedrooom.  The flats are accessible from a discreet entrance and covered stairway between no.263 and the new build. A staircase ascends from the street to first floor level to arrive at a central courtyard where one can access 4no. flats or ascend again by the way of an external staircase to the 3no. second floor flats.

The built form is a series of extruded gables arranged around a central first floor courtyard.  The profile of the gable is proportional to that of the existing Victorian townhouse, no. 263, in terms of its overall height, width and roof pitch.

The three extrusions diminish in scale as they surround the inner courtyard with the largest of the three facing the busy Iffley Road, the smaller flaking the quieter Percy Street and the smallest facing the rear carpark.

The design in terms of its materiality, architectural motifs and stylistic approach, has been thoughtfully devised to not only respond to the Site’s historical context but also to that of its recent developments, ensuring a considered and harmonious development of the Iffley Road area.