The University begun life as the University College Wales which was established in Aberystwyth in 1872. In 1929, a wealthy alumnus of the college, Joseph Davies Bryan (1864-1935), purchased the former Penglais Estate on a hillside east of Aberystwyth which was by then part of the federal University of Wales. This provided the land required for the college to expand. In 1935, the architect (Sir) Percy Thomas (1883-1969) drew up plans to develop the site, proposing a grand formal scheme of continuous ranges of which three buildings were built: the now Grade II listed Cledwyn Main Building (1937), Grade II Pantycelyn Halls of Residence (designed in 1939 and built in 1950-60) and the swimming baths. This plan was replaced in 1957 by one by Sir William Holford & Partners, which proposed small groups of 4- to 6-storey blocks dispersed around the hillside. This led to the construction of the Penbryn Halls of Residence (1960-5). The Percy Thomas practice officially returned to oversee the development of the campus from 1965 when a new masterplan was drawn up by practice architect Ivor Dale Owen.
Construction began on the Physics Building in 1960, it was completed in late 1962 and officially opened on 15th May 1963 by Sir Graham Sutton, Director-General of Meteorological Office and former student of the university. The building was built to accommodate the university departments of Physics, Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics. This department had been created in 1877, initially housed in the Old College; by 1962 there were 219 students and larger, purpose-built, accommodation that was designed to meet the needs of the course was required. It was the largest building constructed on the campus at that point at 60,877 sq ft, and it cost a total of £578,000 including furniture and equipment.
The Physics Building was designed by the architects Sir Percy Thomas & Son, partner in charge was Willam Marsden, working with the main contractors Ponchin Ltd of Middlewich, Cheshire.
It is a striking building which takes the form of a curved, 5-storey tower block to its eastern end, faced in glass and glass ceramics. This contrasts markedly with a low, windowless block clad in Forest of Dean stone which projects out to the west from beneath the tower block. The whole was also designed to contrast with the low set simplicity of the earlier School of Natural Sciences opposite. The western block accommodates the lecture theatres which number 8 in total, with the largest seating 285 people. This block is windowless, allowing the creation of completely dark lecture theatres and was mechanically ventilated. The 5-storey block is orientated east-west, with the north and south elevations clad to avoid solar gain and provide insulation, the west facing elevation maximising the aspect across Cardigan Bay. A library located at its uppermost level – at the quietest place within the building. This library space is expressed externally by tall glass windows which give a satisfactory termination to the design and a pleasing variation in fenestration.
A long range extends behind this block to the west, with two further ranges extending off it at right angles to the south. The block was planned as part of a new central layout, intended to create a series of peaceful courtyards for student and staff to stroll in and to provide some protection from strong prevailing winds.
The Physics Building was built and finished to an exceptionally high standard. The glass ceramics which clad its 5-storey block were obtained directly from works in Venice which produced the facings for the Doge’s Place in 14th century. These ceramics were left in their natural irregular shapes and cast in 4 inch thick concrete combined with stones selected for variety from a number of different quarries to create the building slabs for the main external cladding. It was hoped that these ceramic panels would provide the robust surfaces needed for a building on this exposed site. Adjoining the main entrance to the building is a mural depicting ‘Infinity in the Universe’ created by Venetian craftsmen to the college’s design in similar ceramic.
The internal colour schemes are 95% white with cool blues to rooms facing south and warm rose to those facing north, combined with finishes of natural wood. The lecture theatres have tiered seating, (variously for 60, 96 and 285 students) with the seminar rooms left to a more informal set-up. Laboratories fitted with acoustic cladding to the ceilings, which also hold the heating systems to leave the floor space for benching, fittings and equipment. Separate teaching labs were provided for Honours, Final, and Subsidiary classes, with a customised lab for the post graduate teaching of electronic physics. A range of specialist workshops completed the customised accommodation. The library, containing 25,000 volumes, has a high ceiling to accommodate a mezzanine gallery at its rear and sides for individual study.
The Physics Building was one of four buildings featured in the Post Office’s set of Modern University Buildings stamps in 1971. It appeared alongside James Stirling’s 1960s Engineering Building at Leicester University in England which is now Grade II* listed, suggesting that the Physics Building was considered one of the most architecturally significant post-war University buildings in Wales.
S Fielding RCAHMW January 2025
Refs:
‘New £578,000 Physical Sciences Building at Aberystwyth’, Birmingham Daily Post (15 May 1963).
Supplement: ‘The University College of Wales, Aberystwyth’, Liverpool Daily Post (26 October 1965).
Physical Sciences Building – opening booklet (Aberystwyth University archive)
E L Ellis The University College of Wales 1872-1972 (1972, University of Wales Press)