Radcliffe Observatory Quarter

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View of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter from the Radcliffe Observatory, looking towards Walton Street. View from the observatory towards Walton Street - geograph.org.uk - 1572315.jpg
View of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter from the Radcliffe Observatory, looking towards Walton Street.
The entrance of the new Andrew Wiles Mathematical Institute with Penrose tiling. The Mathematical Institute at Oxford University.jpg
The entrance of the new Andrew Wiles Mathematical Institute with Penrose tiling.

The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter (ROQ) is a major University of Oxford development project in Oxford, England, in the estate of the old Radcliffe Infirmary hospital. [1] The site, covering 10 acres (3.7 hectares) is in central north Oxford. It is bounded by Observatory Street and Green Templeton College to the north, the Woodstock Road to the east, Somerville College to the south, and Walton Street to the west. The project and the new university area is named after the grade I listed Radcliffe Observatory to the north east of the site, now the centrepiece of Green Templeton College, which is intended to form the visual centrepiece of the project.

Contents

History

In 2009, planning permission was granted by Oxford City Council [2] for the refurbishment of the grade II* listed Radcliffe Infirmary (the oldest wing of the hospital) and the grade II listed St Luke's Chapel and Outpatients Building, which flank the entrance courtyard. The Chapel is now deconsecrated and serves as a venue for events. Archaeological excavations were undertaken by the Museum of London. [3] [4] The remains of three Bronze Age barrows and ring ditches were found, together with evidence of settlement in Saxon times.

New accommodation at Somerville College opened in September 2011. For 2012, the Radcliffe Infirmary is being refurbished for occupation by the Humanities Divisional Office, the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Philosophy and Theology Libraries.

In June 2012, New Radcliffe House, by Walton Street on the ROQ development site, was completed by the construction company Longcross. [5] The Jericho Health Centre moved into the ground floor of this new building shortly afterwards. [6]

A new Mathematical Institute for the University of Oxford has been built on the site, named after the mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles, who proved Fermat's Last Theorem. The site will also include a Humanities Building and Library, the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, and the Blavatnik School of Government. [7]

Construction of the Blavatnik School of Government finished in 2015. It is a 22 meter tall building immediately south of Freud's café on Walton Street, designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, using a £75 million donation from the billionaire Leonard Blavatnik. [8] The Campaign to Protect Port Meadow that has been formed to protest against the Oxford University Castle Mill graduate housing development south of Port Meadow was opposed to this proposal as well due to its impact on the Oxford skyline. [9]

In March 2016, Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences relocated from New Radcliffe House to the refurbished Outpatient's Building, adjacent to the old Radcliffe Infirmary. Following a £14m investment, the Grade II-listed outpatients building has been transformed into a new research and teaching centre for primary care researchers. It had been empty since 2007, when the outpatient services were transferred to the West Wing of the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington. [10]

Delayed construction of Humanities building

After securing planning permission for a new Humanities building in 2010, construction was put on hold due to the 'uncertain financial climate.' In 2015, a spokesman for the University said that the university planned to begin construction of a new Humanities building on the site in 2018. However, the head of the Humanities Division later said that construction would begin in 2021. [11] In June 2019, the university announced that Stephen A. Schwarzman had donated £150 million to establish the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. [12]

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Somerville College, Oxford College of Oxford University

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Radcliffe Observatory Observatory in Oxford, England

Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a Grade I listed building. Today, the observatory forms a part of Green Templeton College of the University of Oxford.

Walton Street, Oxford

Walton Street is on the eastern edge of the Jericho district of central Oxford, England.

Radcliffe Infirmary Hospital in England

The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street.

John Radcliffe Hospital Hospital in Oxford, England

The John Radcliffe Hospital is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe, an 18th-century physician and Oxford University graduate, who endowed the Radcliffe Infirmary, the main hospital for Oxford from 1770 until 2007.

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Walton Manor Residential suburb in Oxford, England

Walton Manor is a residential suburb in Oxford, England. It is north of Jericho and the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter and forms part of North Oxford. The street layout and many of the area's buildings date from the mid-19th century. It was developed on land belonging to St John's College, Oxford.

Green Templeton College, Oxford College of the University of Oxford

Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and is centred on the architecturally important Radcliffe Observatory, an 18th-century building, modelled on the ancient Tower of the Winds at Athens. It is the university's second newest graduate college, after Reuben College, having been founded by the historic merger of Green College and Templeton College in 2008.

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The Churchill Hospital is a teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It is managed by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Jericho Health Centre

Jericho Health Centre is a health centre on Walton Street in Oxford, England. It is named after the district of Jericho, just northwest of central Oxford. It is part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS).

Observatory Street

Observatory Street links at the eastern end Woodstock Road in central North Oxford and at the western end Walton Street and the Jericho area of Oxford, England.

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Blavatnik School of Government Public policy school of Oxford University

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Longcross (company) Former British construction company

Longcross was a British construction company which entered into administration in June 2015. The head office was based in Ashtead, Surrey, England.

Freud, Oxford

Freud is a café-bar at 119 Walton Street in Jericho, Oxford, England.

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Tower of the Winds (Oxford) Tower in Oxford, England

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References

  1. Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford, UK.
  2. Planning permission granted on Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, University of Oxford, UK, 7 October 2009.
  3. "Oxford University Event Venues:St Luke's Chapel". Oxford: University of Oxford.
  4. "SP5007: Excavations behind the Radcliffe Infirmary". Geograph . UK. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  5. "Longcross Completes New Radcliffe House for Oxford University". www.longcross.co.uk. UK: Longcross. June 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  6. "Jericho Health Centre Building". www.ox.ac.uk/roq. University of Oxford, UK. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  7. Turnberry Consulting. (2009.) University of Oxford Radcliffe Observatory Quarter: Mathematical Institute: Planning Statement, University of Oxford.
  8. Little, Reg (28 February 2013). "University is facing battle over £30 Jericho plan". The Oxford Times . pp. 1, 3.
  9. Little, Reg (1 March 2013). "University building 'is threat to city skyline'". Oxford Mail .
  10. Oliver, Matt (22 March 2016). "Former Radcliffe Infirmary outpatients' building given £14.1m makeover". Oxford Mail .
  11. "'Top priority?' Uni building plans a decade behind schedule". Versa. UK. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  12. Adams, Richard (19 Jun 2019). "Oxford to receive biggest single donation 'since the Renaissance'". The Guardian . Retrieved 19 June 2019.

Coordinates: 51°45′38″N1°15′50″W / 51.76056°N 1.26389°W / 51.76056; -1.26389