View from the observatory towards Walton Street - geograph

The Mathematical Institute at Oxford University

The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter (ROQ) is a major

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

development project in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in the estate of the old

Radcliffe Infirmary 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. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

hospital. The site, covering 10 acres (3.7 hectares) is in central north Oxford. It is bounded by

Observatory Street Observatory Street is a street in Oxford, England. It links at the eastern end Woodstock Road (opposite Bevington Road and St Anne's College and nearly opposite St Antony's College) in central North Oxford and at the western end Walton Str ...

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 In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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.

History

In 2009,

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

was granted by Oxford City Council for the refurbishment of the

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Radcliffe Infirmary (the oldest wing of the hospital) and the

grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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 The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

. The remains of three Bronze Age barrows and ring ditches were found, together with evidence of settlement in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

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 A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

, and the Philosophy and Theology Libraries. In June 2012,

New Radcliffe House New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, by Walton Street on the ROQ development site, was completed by the construction company Longcross. The

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). In June 2012, New Rad ...

moved into the ground floor of this new building shortly afterwards. A new

Mathematical Institute The Mathematical Institute is the mathematics department at the University of Oxford in England. It is one of the nine departments of the university's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division. The institute includes both pure and appl ...

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 The Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy founded in 2010 at the University of Oxford in England. The School was founded following a £75 million donation from a business magnate Leonard Blavatnik, supported by £26 million ...

. 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. The Campaign to Protect Port Meadow that has been formed to protest against the Oxford University

Castle Mill Castle Mill is a graduate housing complex of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Overview Castle Mill is located north of Oxford railway station along Roger Dudman Way, just to the west of the railway tracks and the Oxford Down Ca ...

graduate housing development south of Port Meadow was opposed to this proposal as well due to its impact on the Oxford skyline. 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. ;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. In June 2019, the university announced that

Stephen A. Schwarzman Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with Peter G. Peterson, former chairman and CEO of ...

had donated £150 million to establish the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.

Gallery

File:Excavations behind the Radcliffe Infirmary - geograph.org.uk - 1571670.jpg, Archaeological excavations by the

in 2009, with the

building in the background File:New Radcliffe House, Oxford.JPG,

in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, housing the

, with the tower of the Radcliffe Observatory in the background File:Green Templeton College.jpg, The Radcliffe Observatory, after which the ROQ project is named File:ROQ outpatients refit.JPG, Ongoing refit of the former outpatients' building into a new health research and teaching centre for the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

References

External links

Radcliffe Observatory Quarter website

Oxford University Library Services information

Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
{{coord, 51, 45, 38, N, 1, 15, 50, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 2009 establishments in England University of Oxford sites Buildings and structures of the University of Oxford Planned developments Green Templeton College, Oxford