An ode to St Catz

Pete Musson and Jeremy Ogunleye on why Catz is like nothing else

If you were to build an Oxford college now, what would it look like? What would it have? E-Libraries and McCafes sharing the same wifi access points? Formal hall, sponsored by Nestlé®? A quad, but with all its corners on the inside? Potentially all of these, but potentially none.

Luckily, this same question was asked just half a century ago and sure enough it threw up some intriguing ideas…

ineffable, noetic

St Catherine’s College (established 1962) is the modern day Oxford college. Its striking buildings in glass and concrete by the famous Danish architect Arne Jacobsen marry modern materials with a traditional layout around a quadrangle.

Innovative use of space, use of light, and use of vibe all cohere rather nicely indeed.

But it’s not just a physical modernity that we like about it, there is a modern, no-holds-barred, no-job-too-small, Rome-wasn’t-built-in-a-day ethos about the place.

The people are aware that their college is different; they know it’s not steeped in the heavy baggage of history that we at other colleges are all, whether we like it or not.  

a physical reflection of postmodernism?

But at Catz, the lack of history brings about quite quirky, quite good vibrations, and an altogether quite laid back charm. 

It’s modern in the true sense of the word. It’s urban, streetwise. It’s Bristol. It’s Manchester. It’s Tony Parsons. It’s Phillip Schofield.

But who are a Pembrokian and a Mertonian to judge? Well, Catz top bloke Byron Goodman had this to say: “St. Catz is a remarkable place. It doesn’t belong and neither do we as students. But we embrace this quality and it’s what makes us unique. After all, you rarely get smashed at Catz”.

Thematically, it foregrounds elements of human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and extraterrestrial life. It is also notable for its pioneering special effects and ambiguous imagery, sound in place of traditional narrative techniques, and minimal use of dialogue.

“It’s Bristol. It’s Manchester. It’s Tony Parsons. It’s Phillip Schofield.”

In case you hadn’t clocked on already, the previous paragraph has been taken from an article about 2001: A Space Odyssey. The similarities between Kubrick and Jacobsen are striking.

Kubrick involved himself in every aspect of production, even choosing the fabric for his actors’ costumes,and selecting notable pieces of contemporary furniture for use in the film.

While in the same decade, Jacobsen’s designs went further than just the fabric of the buildings, with cutlery, furniture, and lampshades being of his own idiosyncratic design. Both daring visionaries, truly forensic in their execution.

In short, Catz’s has done away with the one-size-fits-all policy and encourages the students to grab by their college by the balls. No hiding behind old paintings at dinner time, no sauntering around in an evensong gown. No pointless, long-forgotten shitty college traditions to mask them.

St. Catz do not have to hide behind any contrived college reputation, and this is what we admire about it. Respect? Respect again.

What is “work space” ???