Seven shortlisted for Oxford University scheme

Oxford University’s newest all-graduate college has announced a shortlist of seven practices in the design contest for a new mixed-use building that will feature an element of student accommodation.

Green Templeton College said the successful firms had been whittled down from a longlist of 19 for the project, which it accepts is a “challenging” brief  to introduce an “exciting modern building” to its grade I listed campus.

The shortlisted candidates are: Eric Parry, Feilden Fowles, Haworth Tompkins, Sergison Bates, Stanton Williams, Tim Ronalds, and Walters & Cohen.

Green Templeton’s brief is for conceptual ideas for “a modern building which embodies the college’s ethos of making the world a better place for all to live in” but which also looks onto the 18^th Century Radcliffe Observatory.

The college wants its new building to include up to 80 single-occupancy en-suite rooms, an open-plan office for college staff, and communal study space for students.

It said the successful design would need to optimise the potential of the site, ensure that the building is in harmony with the architecture of the rest of the college and its surroundings, and contribute to the architectural heritage of Oxford, while maintaining views of the observatory from all sides.

College principal Denise Lievesley said the shortlisted practices would present ideas to the college next month, with the winning scheme expected to be lodged for planning in spring 2018.

“This building project is important to Green Templeton College,” she said.

“Our core objective is to improve the experience of the extraordinary students we are proud to have at college.

“I believe that with the right architectural partner we can do just that. Our meetings with the shortlisted practices have already broadened our perspectives.”

The college said the project would be the first in a number of developments following the creation of a masterplan by Long & Kentish Architects.

Green Templeton College was created by the 2008 merger of Green College and Templeton College. It specialises in subjects relating to human welfare and social, economic and environmental well-being, including medical sciences, management, and social sciences.