Explore OA's cultural portfolio, from museums and galleries to heritage destinations, creating inspiring spaces that celebrate collections, enrich visitor experiences and connect communities with culture.
OA ARCHITECTURE
OXFORD BRISTOL CAMBRIDGE
CULTURE
We are a practice rooted in place, driven by design, and united by a belief that architecture should enhance everyday life - intelligently, responsibly, and beautifully.
OA ARCHITECTURE
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Architecture that protects, reveals and inspires Cultural institutions are places of shared experience and discovery. Successful design begins with understanding the stories they tell and the spaces that support them
From new museums and galleries to sensitive interventions within historic settings, we create flexible environments that balance conservation, accessibility and contemporary design, protecting collections while enhancing the visitor experience.
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Purpose built museum abutting a Grade II listed wall and constructed within a historic garden
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60 years of shaping cultural institutions
1962 2000+ 3
Year OA was founded
Projects delivered across sectors
Studios in Oxford, Bristol and Cambridge
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OA ARCHITECTURE
CULTURE
How we work OA is a well-resourced Practice with a high Partner/Associate to staff ratio delivering excellent customer care, professional competence, commitment and delivery. We have a stable and loyal workforce of some 35 staff members in office in Oxford, Bristol and Cambridge, with the professionalism and experience to deliver the required service for any project. Additionally, we also provide Party Wall, Principal Designer, Graphic Designer and Clerk of Works services in-house. We operate a Partner/Project Architect-led approach to design and project running. The Partner and Project Architect will stay with the project from appointment through to completion and post project evaluation. As the project programme requires, they will be supplemented by our technical department and graphics support. We review programmes on a weekly basis to ensure that projects are properly resourced and managed. Technical delivery is assisted by our ISO 9001 Quality Management, and ISO 14001 Environmental Management accredited systems. We operate a wide range of computational design software. Our primary software for production of 3D models is Revit allowing us to be proficient in BIM delivery in compliance with ISO 19650 and the UK BIM framework. Sustainability is at the heart of our design process. All projects are cross referenced with our sustainability check list and we have an extensive portfolio of completed BREEAM projects.
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Pictured: Banbury Museum, PYE Gallery
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PYE Gallery, Banbury Museum Extension of the building to provide new exhibition galleries and flexible spaces for lectures and private hires.
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Designed to enrich every visit
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Reliance on fixed layouts
Key spatial zones: arrival, display, reflection and support
Flexible gallery framework
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OA ARCHITECTURE
CULTURE
Culture Culture shapes how people connect with places, communities and each other. At OA, we design cultural environments that support shared experiences, celebrate identity and create lasting social value. Our work across community buildings, museums and galleries ranges from contemporary new-build projects to the careful adaptation of historic structures, always with a focus on creating welcoming, flexible and enduring spaces. Every cultural project is shaped by the people who use it and the stories it tells. We work closely with clients, stakeholders and local communities to understand how spaces will function day to day, how they can evolve over time, and how architecture can encourage participation, learning and engagement. Whether creating spaces for public gathering, exhibition, performance or education, our designs prioritise accessibility, clarity and adaptability. Many cultural buildings occupy sensitive historic settings or hold significant value within their communities. Our experience in heritage and conservation allows us to carefully balance contemporary requirements with the protection of existing character and fabric. Through thoughtful interventions, sustainable design strategies and detailed technical delivery, we help cultural institutions remain relevant, resilient and connected to the communities they serve. At every stage, our approach is collaborative, practical and design- led. Combining strategic thinking, technical expertise and a deep understanding of public-facing environments, we create cultural spaces that support civic life, enrich visitor experience and continue to serve future generations.
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Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock
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Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Purpose built museum abutting a Grade II listed wall and constructed within a historic garden
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CULTURE
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Creating a contemporary museum within a historic setting required a design that respected its surroundings while expressing the building’s distinct purpose. Conceived as a place to explore the impact of conflict on the people of Oxfordshire, the museum combines robust architecture with flexible, visitor- focused spaces designed to support learning, reflection and future adaptation. The building is organised around a glass-walled cloister overlooking the gardens, with adaptable exhibition galleries and a visible archive that offers visitors an insight into the museum’s collections and operation. A passage gallery carefully separates the new building from the adjoining Grade II listed wall, while a series of interconnected routes encourages exploration and provides framed views between the exhibitions and surrounding landscape. Designed to National Indemnity Standards, the completed museum delivers a contemporary cultural destination that balances conservation, education and flexibility, ensuring it can evolve alongside its collections and future exhibitions.
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INNOVATING
INNOVATING
Banbury Museum
Expanding Banbury Museum’s exhibition capacity required a careful balance between improving visitor experience and creating greater flexibility for future programming. The project centred on delivering new gallery space while enhancing the museum’s public areas to support a wider range of exhibitions, events and community activities. OA led the design and delivery of the new PYE Gallery alongside the refurbishment of the main public circulation spaces. The reconfigured reception and first-floor access improved visitor flow while enabling two existing ground-floor galleries to be combined into a larger, more versatile exhibition space. The completed project has strengthened the museum’s ability to host touring exhibitions from national museums and galleries, while providing flexible spaces that support lectures, screenings, private events and an enhanced visitor experience.
OA ARCHITECTURE
CULTURE
OA’s imagination and diligent approach have created a beautiful environment for everyone to enjoy
FATHER GREGORY - St Patricks Church, Bristol
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Technical Capability
Current Capability & Training
All projects in OA are currently operating within the BIM environment and delivering projects to a level that best suits the clients requirements for construction and post hand over. We are competent and experienced in delivering projects to ISO 19650 (BIM Level 2) standards with the ability to offer fully coordinated design and data enriched information via common data exchange platforms. We are actively working towards BSI ISO 19650 1-2 accreditation on the strength of our BIM experience on previous projects and the processes we have adopted. We now aim to deliver all projects using Revit, allowing us to comply with the processes and standards set out in ISO 19650, even if this is not required by the client or design team as we feel this offers the best design service for our clients. From the inception of the project within Revit, we have the ability to draw on large amounts of embedded information within the 3D model to support both the client and contractor. We also utilise additional software that integrates directly with Revit, such as ADB, which is designed to support HBN and HTM compliance through the delivery of 3D room layouts, room data sheets and component scheduling. Our models utilise rich embedded data developed throughout the course of the project, incorporating modelled information from the wider design team including M&E engineers, structural engineers, landscape architects and civil engineers. By linking these disciplines into our own architectural model, we are able to undertake active model and construction coordination as the design develops and matures.. We have the ability to deliver scheduled COBie information linking specific manufacturer and maintenance attributes to objects and assemblies within the 3D model to the Level of Detail identified in the Employer’s Information Requirements (EIRs).
We have been operating an in-house BIM training programme since August 2013. Our third party BIM consultants ‘AIS’ have enhanced our embedded BIM and Revit knowledge with additional in-depth training sessions. We are actively developing and growing our in house digital design team to utilise computational design as part our design and delivery process.
CAD Software
OA operate Autodesk Revit and Bentley AECOsim Building Designer, both supported by Bentley PowerDraft and Autodesk Autocad for 2D drafting. We use Solibri Model Checker software as a tool to review and run clash detection on federated BIM models. We also run ADB, Autodesk ‘Navisworks’ and Autodesk ‘Design Review’ as required by the client. We have experience using common data environments such as 4projects or A-site, as well as the ability to host and manage projects via SharePoint. Visualisations are exported to Lumion or Enscape for photorealistic renders, with additional Photoshop manipulation setting the models into context.
ISO 19650, EIR and BEP
We work to the latest standards set out in the UK BIM Framework ISO 19650 series of standards and our Digital Production manual, MPDT, TDIP, BEP and EIR documentation has been developed in accordance with these standards.
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Purpose built museum abutting a Grade II listed wall and constructed within a historic garden
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OA OXFORD Bagley Croft Hinksey Hill Oxford OX1 5BS Tel: 01865 329 100 OA BRISTOL The Workshop 254 Southmead Road Bristol BS10 5EN Tel: 0117 958 1500 OA CAMBRIDGE Milton Hall Ely Road Cambridge CB24 6WZ Tel: 01223 828 340
www.oa-architecture.co.uk
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