Blavatnik to soften landscape

At an open day on 30th January, the Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, Professor Ngaire Woods, answered local residents' questions. Most people said they were impressed by a very striking building. But there were some concerns, for example, about the landscaping which shows a very 'hard' frontage to Walton Street. Would there be any plants? Professor Woods replied: "Most of us share your view that we now need to work on the landscaping. But anything we do has to come under the University Radcliffe Observatory Quarter strategy. We have to work with everybody involved in the site,but am confident that over the next five years we will see lovely landscaping around this building. We appreciate you continuing to ask for it!" Other people were curious about the influence of Mr Blavatnik on the design. "We had a series of different architects around the world draw designs. We invited him to play a role in the architectural selection. Len really pushed or a building that would be more sensitive to Oxford but also bolder. We thrilled that we finished up with [the Swiss architects] Herzog & de Meuron, and it is partly his vision that helped us to get to this point." This is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city. Geothermal boreholes will provide heating and cooling through ground-source heat pumps, and the toilets are flushed with rainwater. The building is designed to be very open and the offices have glass walls. All the blinds are programmed to open up every morning to ensure that the building is flooded with light. So even if one occupant is away for a couple of weeks the light will always pass through their office. The Open Day proved very popular. Tickets for the day were oversubscribed and a number of people were disappointed. The building will not be permanently open to the public. Professor Woods said: "We want to create inside the building a very safe open feel for the students and officials, so they can just roam about and find each other." However people will be invited to public events. "For example will will have a very lively debate on Brexit which will be open to the public." For further details about the building, visit the Blavatnik School of Government website.