Oxford University has unveiled plans to create a £490m campus in the city centre. The cost of the new complex on the Radcliffe Infirmary site is more than double original estimates of £240m.
And the masterplan published today reveals the full extent of the university ambitions, as it emerged that it is also planning to spend millions more transforming the university science area. The first building work on the Infirmary site should begin before the end of the year, with the project likely to take between 15 and 20 years to complete.
Three sweeping boulevards will run across the site to the Radcliffe Observatory in Green College, opening up impressive views of the Grade I listed building, with tree-lined roads running from it to the Oxford University Press building, Cardigan Street and Somerville College. A large two-floor library will be built underground, with the entrance in a large crescent shaped glass wall, a major feature on the northern side of the site. The only buildings expected to be retained on the 10.5-acre site are the main Radcliffe Infirmary building, facing the Woodstock Road, and St Luke's Chapel. The rest is expected to be demolished by the summer of 2008.
A £10m purpose-built NHS health centre for the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust will be the first building to open in 2009. It will be followed by mathematics insitute in mid-2010 and then humanities buildings. A major consultation on the masterplan starts on Monday, continuing until April 20.
The university has also come forward with a second masterplan to upgrade about half of the university science area over the next 20 years. It says the area, off South Parks Road, along with 'the Keble triangle', no longer meets "the university's desired aesthetic and environmental standards." The redevelopment would be carried out in phases "as and when the academic need, and funding, arise". Many major science department buildings will be rebuilt, and the scheme will require heavy investment in infrastructure and the university said the project could take decades to complete. Both schemes have been approved by the university council.
After the public consultation, the university will submit the masterplans to Oxford City Council for endorsement. University vice-chancellor Dr John Hood said: "Redeveloping these central sites will enhance the architecture of the city for all its residents."
The Infirmary site, now owned by the university, was only vacated by the NHS in January. University pro-vice-chancellor and chairman of the university estates and building committee Prof Roger Ainsworth said: "We are thrilled with the vision that architect Rafael Vinoly has come up with. This is the last substantial area of land close to the city centre that we can develop. It is going to be of the greatest importance to the university as we move forward into the 21st century." He said the RI site would operate as an integrated campus that could be developed in phases to meet the university's needs for space over the next 20 years.
The university's mathematics, philosophy, English, history, theology and linguistics departments will all be based at the site, along with the university's main administrative headquarters. There would be substantial public access across the site, offering new views of notable Oxford buildings. The site will be pedestrianised, with vehicles taken immediately below ground and car parking limited to 100 spaces. There will eventually be cycle parking facilities for 400 staff and 2,600 students. The city council successfully pressed for two east-west roads across the site, linking Woodstock Road and Walton Street.
The masterplan also makes provision for public art spaces, with opportunities for sculptures and murals in a sunken garden, facing the glazed crescent. The masterplan would also allow for the possible extension of Somerville College on to the Radcliffe Infirmary site. The path from Oxford University Press to the observatory would reflect the Meridian line, which for many years prior to the 1930s was kept clear to facilitate astronomical investigations. The Radcliffe Observatory, built in 1768, is regarded architecturally as Europe's finest observatory.
There would be substantial public access across the site. Both developments are expected to be largely funded by grants, and a university fundraising campaign is planned. The £615m estimated cost quoted in this week's Oxford Times was revised to £490m after the paper had gone to press. [!]
Exhibitions on the plans will be held on Monday March 5 at OUP, in Walton Street; on March 12 at the University Museum; and on March 20 and April 19 at the Said Business School. All the exhibitions will take place between 11am and 8pm, with presentations between 1pm and 2pm.
Some academics had questioned the wisdom of storing rare volumes on a site that has witnessed severe flooding in recent years. Conservationists had also protested about the impact of the huge depository on the famous Oxford skyline. But the university says the plans submitted this week to Oxford City Council have addressed both sets of concerns.
The new designs include plans for a concrete flood defence wall to protect the building, while a new roof line is proposed. The depository would be the first stage in a £130m scheme.
Chris Pattison, a spokesman for Oxford University, said: "The depository is not on the flood plain. Osney Mead estate is liable to flooding under extreme circumstances, like many other sites. But there is no more risk of flooding than at many other Oxford locations. Nevertheless this will probably be the best-defended building in the city. The university is taking precautions against all risks by raising the ground-floor level and placing a flood defence wall around the building."
The depository, on the Osney site formerly occupied by Blackwell's, is smaller than the original proposal. The roof level now varies in height from 12m at its lowest point, to 20.2m at its highest. Mr Pattison said the new plan followed extensive discussions with English Heritage, which was keen to promote "a dynamic building form that would blend into the surrounding tree canopy and townscape".
Books ordered by students and researchers would be transferred to the city centre by van. With 12 round van trips per day planned, the university said it would not lead to greater traffic congestion.
There are also plans to improve pedestrian access to the river towpath by providing a walkway and gate through the site. The original design to create a depository equivalent in size to Christ Church's Tom Quad had been strongly criticised by Oxford Preservation Trust, which claimed the building resembled "a great box-like shed". Trust director Debbie Dance said: "We are pleased to see that there have been some changes made to the designs. But we remain concerned that the depository is still on this site."
Work on the automated book depository could begin in the late summer, with the building ready to open in March, 2009. It would allow more than 16 years' growth space for new books. The massive library overhaul would later see the £50m modernisation of the New Bodleian, where deteriorating storage conditions are causing concern. Plans for the New Bodleian, built in the late 1930s, include the creation of a permanent exhibition space to display the Bodleian's treasures, a conservation centre and new specialist reading rooms. A new humanities library is planned on the university's Radcliffe Infirmary site.
The Bodleian's modernisation will be financed by the university, with a major contribution from Oxford University Press.
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