We are talking about the territory of the Radcliffe Hospital: with the exception of a few historic buildings (including the main building of this 18th century hospital), its territory of 4 hectares can be used for new construction. This is what the university leadership decided to take advantage of, which needs new areas.
There, in accordance with the general plan of Rafael Vignoli, educational, administrative and residential buildings should appear. This ensemble is named "Radcliffe Observatory District" in honor of the late 18th century classicist building located at the edge of the site. Now it is partially obscured by hospital structures to be demolished, but according to the new general plan, this astronomical observatory will become an urban planning “vanishing point” for the entire surrounding area.
In addition to the general plan, Vignoli also developed a project for the building of the Institute of Mathematics, a large scientific and educational institution: 500 researchers and 1000 students and teachers will work and study there. Five above-ground floors of each of the two buildings of the institute will be occupied by offices and laboratories of researchers; their two underground levels will house seminar and streaming auditoriums and public spaces. A glazed lobby will connect these two structures.
The centerpiece of the new ensemble will be the humanitarian building and library of Bennetts Associates. The academic building is intended for four faculties: English language and literature, history, theology and philosophy, where up to 1,500 students will study. This building, U-shaped in plan, will surround a small garden in which a glass "lantern" will be erected - the only above-ground space of the library, its reading room. Book storage and other utility rooms will be located below ground level.
Also in the Radcliffe Observatory Area, two student dorms at Somerville College will be erected by Niall McLaughlin Architects. The same workshop will transform the outpatient department building (1913) into a new building for the Ruskin School of Arts.
Specialists in the reconstruction of monuments, Purcell Miller Tritton bureau were entrusted with the adaptation of the hospital wing (1770) for offices for the administration of the university, and the chapel of St. Luke (1865) - for a multifunctional auditorium.
