Niall McLaughlin took part in a live discussion evening at the RIBA, chaired by the Observer architecture critic Rowan Moore. The event brought together the six practices shortlisted for this year’s Stirling Prize, to reflect on their individual entries and to participate in a wider conversation about British architecture. The panel discussed the stories behind the projects and took questions from the audience.
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.