Radcliffe Observatory Quarter

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.

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. Archaeological excavations were undertaken by the Museum of London.^[3] 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.^[4] The Jericho Health Centre moved into the ground floor of this new building shortly afterwards.^[5]

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.^[6]

Due to open in 2015, Oxford University is building the Blavatnik School of Government, a 22 meter tall building immediately south of Freud's café on Walton Street, as part of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, using a £75 million donation from the billionaire Leonard Blavatnik.^[7] 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.^[8]

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 has been empty since 2007, when the outpatients services were transferred to the West Wing of the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington ^[9]

Gallery

Archaeological excavations by the Museum of London in 2009, with the Radcliffe Infirmary building in the background.
New Radcliffe House in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, housing the Jericho Health Centre, with the tower of the Radcliffe Observatory in the background.
The Radcliffe Observatory, after which the ROQ project is named.
Ongoing refit of the former outpatient's building into a new health research and teaching centre for the University of Oxford.