Building Senate House
The building of Senate House was a seminal event in the history of the 嗨碰视频 and hugely significant in terms of Bloomsbury and 嗨碰视频.
When completed, Senate House was the tallest secular building in the capital, slightly shorter than St Paul鈥檚 Cathedral. Up until that point, the University had led a nomadic existence. The University was initially based in some rooms in Somerset House.
Moves to Burlington House and then the Imperial Institute followed. The choice of the architect, Charles Holden, was made after William Beveridge, the Director of the 嗨碰视频 School of Economics, and Edwin Deller, the Principal of the 嗨碰视频, toured the country to see buildings.
Four architects were then invited to the Athenaeum to discuss the project. Holden, whose previous buildings included Acton Town tube station, emerged as the winner from this process.
The 嗨碰视频 archive includes the contracts for the Senate House building. Amongst these contract , which dates from 1934.
The contract is extremely detailed, running to over 300 pages (excluding the plans, which comprise the other half of the volume).
This huge volume includes a wealth of detail about the building. Lists of allocated space for each floor give us a detailed idea of how the University functioned but also they emphasise how much things have changed since 1934. For example, there were abrupt distinctions between the sexes in terms of provision for male and female employees. On the third floor, there were 鈥渨omen鈥檚 lockers鈥, a 鈥渨aitresses鈥 changing room鈥 and 鈥渨omen鈥檚 lockers鈥. There was also a women-only common room for the administrative staff.
The index to the contract comprises nearly ten pages, covering everything from 鈥渁nti-syphonage鈥 pipes to bronze counter grilles. Nothing was left to chance in terms of the specifications of the building.
There were 447 clauses in the agreement, the first of which stipulated that the 鈥渕aterials throughout to be supplied wholly from and manufactured entirely within the British Empire鈥.
These materials were to be of the finest quality: the timber had to be 鈥渙f the best quality鈥btainable鈥 and 鈥渇ree from all saps, shakes, large, loose and dead knots鈥.
The cost of each component of the construction process was calculated in minute detail: labour costs 鈥渢o groove for turn in of asphalte (sic), skirting and point in cement鈥 amounted to 拢71 8s 6d, for instance.
Metal windows, fanlights, borrowed lights and doors delivered glazed and fixed complete鈥, on the other hand, set the University back the sum of 拢14,000. The total cost of the contract was 拢362,579. The equivalent in today鈥檚 money would be 拢23.5 million.
Excerpt from Contract No 2: The Superstructure of the Senate House Block
Holden鈥檚 original plan envisaged a huge building, which would have stretched as far north as the modern day UCL Student Centre
Financial pressures forced these plans to be scaled back in 1937. Tragedy had already struck, however, when Edwin Deller, who was showing visitors around the site, was hit by a builder鈥檚 truck which had plummeted down a lift shaft. He died shortly afterward.
Deller鈥檚 influence on the University in this era was profound and his calm, incisive leadership was much missed. He is commemorated by the Deller Hall on the lower ground floor.
Senate House was in use as an administrative building by 1936 although the University was soon forced to vacate the premises by the outbreak of the Second World War.
Instead, Holden鈥檚 masterpiece became the headquarters of the Ministry of Information. This period in the building鈥檚 history has been celebrated in poetry and prose ever since.
Foundation work in 1934
