We offer our congratulations to Joanna Karatzas who has been made an Associate. She joins Tim Allen-Booth, and Tilo Guenther in this leadership role within the practice. Joanna joined Niall McLaughlin Architects in 2007 and has worked on a range of projects including the Bishop Edward King Chapel in Oxford, a private house in Hampshire and the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter masterplan.
The development of Park Hospital has been granted Outline Planning Consent by the Oxford City Council. The project will redevelop the existing Park Hospital site into additional biomedical research facilities for Oxford University’s Old Road Campus.
The campus is one of the foremost biomedical research campus’ in the UK. As part of the University’s vision to remain a world leader in this field, the redevelopment of Park Hospital will provide an additional 48,000 square metres of accommodation for research and laboratory facilities.
The site is located in a challenging planning environment as it is adjacent to a local wildlife site, connected to the Lye Valley, a site of special scientific interest. Wide ranging consultation took place during the pre-planning phases of the application, on account of the ecological sensitivities of the site and to ensure that the development would benefit the local area.
The extension and refurbishment of the Wolfson Building in Oxford is now complete. The Grade II Listed building, originally designed by Arup Associates in the 1960s, forms part of Somerville College in Oxford. The extension provides the college with additional gathering space in the hall on the ground floor and gives the building a clearer presence on the College’s main quadrangle.