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Architects: Niall McLaughlin Architects
- Area: 2 m²
- Year: 2011
Text description provided by the architects. The University of Oxford is developing the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter on the site of the old Radcliffe Infirmary. The new development will contain faculty buildings for Humanities and Social Sciences. Somerville College occupies the whole southern boundary of the site. When the old hospital buildings were knocked down they exposed the north-facing flank wall to Somerville College. The proximity of older hospital buildings meant that the College had turned their buildings away from the Infirmary. An almost blank façade was exposed for the first time along the boundary of the site. The University exchanged land with the College to allow a long, narrow development along this edge. This allowed the College to build new student rooms and to re-orientate their grounds towards a major new centre for the University.
