Glencar Reaches Key Milestone on Oxford University Storage Facility Expansion

Glencar has marked a major construction milestone on the expansion of University of Oxford’s Collections Storage Facility (CSF) in Swindon, with a ceremonial slab pour signalling significant progress on site.

The milestone event, held on 5 March, brought together project partners including Ridge, Bidwells and the Bodleian Libraries team, alongside the workforce delivering the scheme.

Expanding a World-Class Facility

The development, located at South Marston, represents a major investment in the long-term preservation of Oxford’s globally significant collections.

Works include the construction of a new climate-controlled storage chamber (Chamber 5) and a dedicated Spirit Collection Store, designed specifically for the safe storage of zoological specimens.

Once complete, the facility will support the storage of over 10 million books, manuscripts and artefacts, spanning collections from institutions including:

• Ashmolean Museum

• Museum of Natural History

• Pitt Rivers Museum

• History of Science Museum

Designed for Preservation and Sustainability

The new buildings are being delivered to Passivhaus Classic Standards, ensuring exceptional levels of energy efficiency and environmental control—critical for protecting sensitive materials.

Key features of the scheme include:

• Conservation laboratories for fragile materials

• Photography and digitisation studios

• Secure loading facilities for collection handling

• Specialist ATEX-rated systems for specimen storage

• High-performance airtight construction for optimal preservation conditions

Programme and Delivery

The project is being delivered over a 69-week programme, having commenced in April 2025, with completion scheduled for August 2026.

Glencar is acting as main contractor, working alongside a project team including Purcell Architects, Bidwells, Ridge and Price & Myers.

Supporting Heritage and Research

The expansion reinforces the importance of modern, sustainable storage solutions in protecting cultural and scientific heritage, while enabling future research, digitisation and global accessibility.

The slab pour milestone marks another step forward in delivering a state-of-the-art facility that will safeguard one of the world’s most significant academic collections for generations to come.