Cheng Yu Tung Building, Northgate Development

The new development is a mixed-use development with ground and floor retail on the busy thoroughfare of Cornmarket; academic facilities and accommodation are housed on the second floor upward. It compromises a new Quad for the college at second floor level, improved retail facilities activating the frontage and new external spaces. The project is also a catalyst for the improvement of Market Street.

The Cheng Yu Tung Building allows the College to: accommodate increased student numbers resulting from its introduction of Computer Science and an expansion of postgraduate places; deliver improved space for students and staff; and provide more access to the work of the College. It will include an innovative Digital Hub designed to promote interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange. This will foster productive interaction between real and virtual forms of communication, and facilitate engagement with the latest developments in computational tools, methods and techniques across the disciplines that Jesus College supports. The multi-storey space is connected by a sweeping, generous stair which becomes a forum for up to 500 people to join large events, with integrated digital displays and connectivity for mass interactive events.

On an urban scale, the new development with its fourth quad, a new gatehouse and a modern dynamic façade treatment will provide a cornerstone to Oxfords continuous development of the central retail and for the College’s expansion. The development was granted planning in 2018, and is currently an active construction site with an anticipated completion in 2021.

“With this new development, we are not just embracing the future of learning: we’re shaping it.”

— Sir Nigel Shadbolt FRS FREng, Principal, January 2020