Wheat and barley grow in the fields to the south of Abingdon.

Here the ground rises above the houses of the Tithe Farm Estate. A couple of buildings stand out above the trees from this vantage…  There is the white control room of Abingdon Police Station …

and the bell tower and steeple of  St Helen’s Church.

At West Waddy , the architects at 60 East St Helen Street, until Thursday from 1pm – 4pm, there is an exhibition of the work of student architects from Brookes University.  It is a well presented exhibition in a beautiful riverside building.

The brief  for architectural students was to design a Lido and Spa in Abingdon  for the 21st Century.

The Abingdon Open Air Pool / Lido has survived when many others have closed after their heyday before the 1970s. The brief asked students to cater for “contemporary society, in particular the young and families. It should accommodate the early morning serious swimmer, the lunchtime and after work swimmer, school groups, weekend families, summer tourists,

evening socialisers,  and winter enthusiasts.”

The exhibiton showed a range of work – all very creative and theoretical but I am not sure it will give SOLL leisure – who currently run the pool – many practical ideas to help make the pool a more popular venue.

The winning design showed a glass bottomed pool projecting out towards the river and fields beyond.

The latest newsletter from the Abingdon based architects West Waddy ADP is a history of  some of the buildings they have been involved with. As an example …

St Nicolas school – formerly Boxhill Church of England School –

and Ward 1 of Abindon Community hospital were both designed by them about 1930. I am sure they both looked equally elegant when first built.