Oxford University has this week unveiled initial design plans as part of the Masterplan for the Radcliffe Infirmary development due to commence mid-2007. The project team is to maintain and renovate the original Radcliffe Infirmary building, completed in 1770, but replace the more recent surrounding development with new buildings.
A spokesperson for Rafael Vinoly Architects, who have been employed by the University for the project, said, "The inspiration for the new development came from the surrounding environment. For instance, the nearby observatory and the Oxford University Press building were very important in our planning process. We wanted to open the visual avenues so that the original buildings could be appreciated as they deserved to be. We also wanted to remove the later additions that were suffocating the Radcliffe Infirmary and have it in its original garden position."
The new development is potentially to house the Mathematics and Statistics departments and the Humanities faculties. The Radcliffe Infirmary site lies between the Woodstock Road and Walton Street and is also bordered by Somerville and Green Colleges. The University has estimated that it will need a surplus 100,000 sq m for functional estate over the next 20 years due to growth in educational and research activity. This need is to be catered for principally by the Radcliffe Infirmary Site, which was purchased from the NHS in March 2003.
The University's interest in the Radcliffe Infirmary site for development dates back to the 1960s, when the Holford Report on land requirements of the University identified the Radcliffe Infirmary as the only sizeable developable land in the city centre, and stated that the acquisition of it was of "primary importance".
A spokesperson for the project team spoke of his satisfaction with the Masterplan's progress: "I don't think anyone envisaged arriving at a universally agreed concept as rapidly as we have done. 180 people have visited on the first day of the exhibition and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive."
One student, who did not wish to be named, said he had visited the exhibition on the day it opened. "I think the plans look very impressive, but I am concerned that the location of the new site is too far removed from the centre of the city. The majority of the colleges are a good ten or 15 minutes walk from the Infirmary development. It would be a shame if the new learning centre meant that the city lost its vibrant atmosphere to North Oxford."