Oxford University Development
Oxford University Development
Another Landscape
Public Art Strategy, Ongoing
Existing landscape in Begbroke Science Park.
In 2021 we were appointed by Oxford University Development to lead on arts and culture as part of the placemaking division of the masterplanning team for Begbroke Innovation District. A joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General, OUD focuses on academic estate, residential, infrastructure and commercial innovation space.
‘Another Landscape’, our arts strategy for the district, is an interdisciplinary programme that celebrates and facilitates collaboration, knowledge exchange, research and scientific endeavour. Artistic practitioners are currently exploring and experimenting with processes that could positively impact people and the planet, through a series of site-specific projects. The materials-led programme includes opportunities for OU researchers to collaborate with the practitioners, with a focus on plant cultivation, regenerative materials, stone, earth and material sciences.
Led by Hawkins\Brown architects, the district’s masterplan centres around the existing University of Oxford’s Begbroke Science Park; radiating out from that would be a series of proposed high quality green spaces for all types of inhabitants, flora and fauna. The arts programme is intended to act as one of the starting points for the District, helping to shape the area-design guidelines and to define the district as it develops.
With a number of the artistic commissions already under construction, we are working in partnership with the masterplanning team to help deliver an exemplary, sustainable development for Oxford University to maintain and enhance its world-class research and education, and to support the wider Oxford economy and society.
Outdoor Canvas by STORE x Kaye Song (Completed)
The first project to be completed is by STORE and architectural designer Kaye Song, in partnership with engineers Structure Workshop. The canvases, modular and multifunctional, house an annual rotating art commission and, with the addition of a few hay bales, can be configured into a theatre for music performances or cinema screenings, creating a defined space for cultural activities within the surrounding landscape. The design itself takes cues from farming vernacular - lean, efficient and highly functional. The structures are roadworthy and can be relocated and reused, which provides an incredibly agile opportunity for art to appear across a developing site. The inaugural artwork installed on the canvases is 'Ungrounding' by design studio The Rodina.
Read more about the structures here and artwork here.
Weed Garden by Assemble and Sarah Alun-Jones (In Progress)
The ‘Weed Garden’ is a work in progress by Turner Prize winning architecture practice Assemble and garden designer Sarah Alun-Jones, serving as both an artwork and an inventive biodiversity initiative. Celebrating the plants that many would usually regard as weeds, the garden combines planting and architectural elements to create a space of humble beauty and contemplation.
The garden draws inspiration from the condition of the site as the team found it. The focus on weeds is especially apt as, from 1960 to 1985, Begbroke was home to the headquarters of the UK’s Weed Research Organisation – one of the world’s most influential centres of weed science.
Autopoietic by Jaimini Patel (In Progress)
Jaimini Patel is Begbroke Innovation District's first artist-in-residence. Appointed in the autumn of 2023 by Oxford University Development, Patel has been exploring the site through self-sustaining systems and permaculture.
Patel’s research and time onsite led her to the practice of Hügelkultur – a self-watering, self-tilling, and self-fertilising system, an ancient no-dig growing technique used by many indigenous cultures worldwide. This zero-waste method uses material that would be discarded, such as logs, branches, cardboard, leaf litter and food scraps. The decomposing wood releases water and nutrients, acting as a sponge and ensuring resilience to both flood and drought. Hügels (from the German ‘hill’ or ‘mound’) can be self-sustaining for up to two decades.
Company
The Rodina, STORE, Assemble, Sarah Alun-Jones, Jaimini Patel, Hawkins/Brown, OKRA, Zetteler, Eleanor Mathieson Kaye Song, Structure Workshop, Donna Walker, University of Oxford Begbroke Polymers Group, Oxford Archeology, Cherwell Collective, Unit Lab, Buro Happold, Suzie McMurtry Rebecca Heald, Love Drystone, Cotswold Natural Stone, Mace Group.and Digital Craft in Architecture (MA) Students from Oxford Brookes.
Place
Begbroke Science Park, Begbroke Innovation District for Oxford University Development
