Masterplanners needed for Oxfordshire science and innovation district
Oxford University Development (OUD), a £4bn joint venture between the University of Oxford and Legal & General Capital, announces the launch of an international design competition to find a creative, forward-thinking masterplan team for its world-leading £1billion, 190-hectare mixed-use Innovation District at Begbroke Science Park in Kidlington, England.
We are retained as the project manager for the Innovation District and are working in partnership with Colander Associates to manage the design competition. Utilising our experience of delivering world-class developments and Colander’s experience sourcing world-class design teams, the competition is seeking a multi-disciplinary team to generate innovative, yet deliverable ideas that will set pioneering standards for this type of development for years to come.
Associate Director Gemma Bushell said: "After many months of working closely with the client team to define the project’s requirements, today marks a significant step forward for Begbroke.
This design competition offers a unique opportunity to be involved in this transformative project. We are excited to see the responses that come in, and ultimately to collaborate with the winning party to shape and deliver a world-leading sustainable Innovation District at Begbroke.
The winning design team will set the bold ambition and design intent for a project that will transform the area around the University's Begbroke Science Park, to the north of Oxford. The project will also create a community of up to 2,000 quality homes, with new schools, public park and nature reserve.
OUD’s aspiration is to create a boundary-pushing scheme that demonstrably achieves a step-change in sustainable design, delivery and operation. The new district will seek to attract the very best minds, while driving economic growth, improving transport connections, delivering benefits for local people, as well as enhancing the surrounding natural landscape.
The site will provide an exemplary new setting for the university's world-leading science and innovation, which will help address key global challenges facing humanity – from food security and biodiversity to climate change and the urgent need to move to a zero-carbon economy.
The competition invites interest from international, UK-based and local teams, encouraging large, established practices to join forces with individuals or emerging practices – to provide new perspectives on how to develop the area to its full potential. A hashtag has been created, #OUDcompetition, for firms to find each other online. The winning team will be expected to offer both gravitas and experience alongside fresh thinking and radical ideas.
The regeneration programme will be multi-phased. The first phase of the scheme will bring forward new facilities for the university’s research and development, as well as provide space to incubate spin-out companies.
The ambition is anchored by Cherwell District Council’s Local Plan Partial Review, which has identified the site for a high-quality mixed-use development. This will include a range of research and development, residential and associated social and physical infrastructure uses, such as schools, local centres, amenity space and recreation/leisure uses, as well as excellent connectivity to the City of Oxford by sustainable means.
Aspiring entrants should visit www.colander.co.uk/architectural-competitions for more information on the criteria and are asked to submit Stage 1 submissions by Friday 3 December 2021.
