Foster + Partners has unveiled plans to restore The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, UK, a Grade II-listed building famous for being the meeting spot of the Inklings literary group, including JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. The renovation is the firm’s first pub project and smallest undertaking since 2017.
The design preserves the pub’s original character while introducing informal workspaces for the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) on upper levels and a cafe on lower storeys of adjacent buildings. The project aims to transform The Eagle and Child into an all-day destination.
“The design preserves the unique character of The Eagle and Child and respects its many layers of history,” said Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio at Foster + Partners. “Our sensitive interventions will create an all-day meeting place by introducing an adjacent cafe and inspirational workspaces for EIT across the upper levels.”
The renovation will include light-touch renovations to the famous Rabbit Room and two parlour rooms, reinstatement of the pub’s third parlour room, creation of informal, homely workspaces for EIT, addition of a bakery in neighbouring buildings, restoration of a historic passageway to link the pub to the cafe, and an updated garden landscape.
The project will retain historic, mismatched updates as part of the building’s narrative, while contemporary additions will be designed to complement the existing architecture.
Image Courtesy: Foster + Partners
