Christ Church has proposed the refurbishment and extension of the Faculty of Music building on St Aldate’s in central Oxford. Once the Faculty moves to the new Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, the College aims to repurpose the building into a graduate accommodation complex. Christ Church is in the process of acquiring the site, which is currently owned by the University.
The building concerned was designed in 1936 by neo-vernacular architect Hubert Worthington, and was previously used as student accommodation before becoming the home of the Music Faculty in 1981. The redevelopment would largely retain the existing structure, although the plans include fairly significant “filling in” of the existing silhouette, and redevelopment would raise the height of some more modern additions to the building.
The building is not listed but is a part of the Central (City and University) Conservation Area. Christ Church has stated that the scheme has been “carefully designed to respect the historic character of the area”. While the extensions to the building have a more modern style, their materials and silhouette have been selected to fit into the site’s existing appearance.
Christ Church have stated that the proposal intends to expand its College-provided accommodation, saving graduates the inconvenience of dealing with the private rental market, and providing “stable, fairly priced housing”. They hope that this will encourage graduates to engage more fully in college life, and will support “research, collaboration, and community-building”.
The proposed plans would replace Music faculty meeting rooms, offices, and practice rooms with en-suite graduate studios, each with its own kitchenette and double bed. As proposed, the redeveloped site would contain 62 such studios, two of which have been marked out as accessible. Accessible rooms are larger than standard, and are designed so that the students using them can have carers in adjacent studios if necessary. The building would also contain a variety of communal spaces and practice rooms.
Sustainability is a focus of the proposed design. The plans highlight spaces for biodiversity on the site as well as incorporating a rainwater garden, energy efficient fittings, solar panels, a heat pump, and a large number of bike spaces. Christ Church rated the project as falling within the standards of “Best Practice”, measured against its own Responsible Ownership Policy for Property (ROPP). Carolyn Puddicombe, Christ Church’s Director of Planning and Housing, told Cherwell that the ROPP was put in place by the college to balance the Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria for its invested endowment.
A Christ Church spokeswoman told Cherwell: “The proposed Christ Church Graduate Centre at St Aldates aims to create a high quality, sustainable, and well-integrated residential environment to meet the needs of the college’s graduate community. It will allow Christ Church to expand graduate numbers and provide a higher proportion of graduate accommodation than can currently be offered.
“This work has been carefully designed to respect the historic character of the area, responding sensitively to the surrounding context while delivering modern, functional, and high grade living spaces.”
Christ Church is currently in pre-planning discussion with Oxford City Council, and hopes to obtain planning permission over the summer. According to the proposal, work on the new graduate centre could be complete as early as the beginning of 2028, meaning it could begin full operation in the 2028-2029 academic year.
Cherwell has approached the Music Faculty and the Oxford Preservation Trust for comment.
