Proposal for 25 Wellington Square would see 1970s graduate accommodation block demolished and replaced with new academic building
Oxford University Development has been given the green light for plans by Stanton Williams to redevelop a 1970s building designed by renowned International Style architect Leslie Martin
OUD, a joint venture between the University of Oxford and Legal & General, said the new building will make ”much better use of an important city centre site” by providing modern, effective university space with improved street frontages and upgraded public realm. Construction of the scheme is expected to begin next year.
The project includes the refurbishment of a Victorian terrace on the western side of Wellington Square, which currently provides academic space and residential accommodation for the Department of Continuing Education.
The scheme has incorporated passivhaus principles while the developer said it had opted for a refurbishment of Western Square for the second phase of the project to save embodied carbon.
This second phase will contain 100 graduate rooms to replace the accommodation at 25 Wellington Square.
The existing building at 25 Wellington Square was designed by Sir Leslie Martin and completed in 1974. It formed part of a wider masterplan to redevelop the whole of Wellington Square, a scheme that was never fully realised. It has been described by the university as no longer meeting accessibility or fire regulations.
Others working on the scheme include Skelly & Couch as M&E Engineers, Webb Yates as structural engineers and T&T Alinea as cost consultants.
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