Somerville College has held a ground-breaking ceremony for the Ratan Tata Building, a new 700m² academic hub in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. The building will house the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, as well as spaces for teaching and learning.
Planning consent for the building was granted last month, with construction planned to commence from April next year. The project will take around 18 months, with completion planned to coincide with the 2027/28 academic year. The building will occupy the last plot for development in the Observatory Quarter, which is also home to the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.
The ceremony was attended by Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, High Commissioner of India Vikram Doraiswami, and Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Tata Group, whose recent donation to Somerville was the largest in the College’s history.
Chandrasekaran was awarded a Foundation Fellowship – Somerville’s highest honour for philanthropy – in recognition of the Tata Group’s support for the project.
Catherine Royle, Principal of Somerville College, commented : “Somerville has always gone its own way and blazed new trails. That’s why Somerville is proud to be playing a key role in Oxford University’s growing relationship with India.”
Royle also described the building as bringing together “everything that is unique about our College”, adding: “it’s creative and it’s ambitious, but it’s also an example of living our principles of partnership and sustainability.”
The building is named after Ratan Tata, the late philanthropist and former Chairman of the Tata Group, making it the first building within the University to be named in honour of an Indian.
Chandrasekaran said: “Mr Ratan Tata believed absolutely in the power of education to create a brighter future. In creating a permanent home for the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development at Somerville College, we see Mr Tata’s vision taking shape in a place he admired, in a form that will create a lasting bond of scholarship and hope between the University of Oxford and India.”
Designed by Morris+Company, the Ratan Tata building will feature six tutor rooms, two research rooms, multiple seminar spaces, and a “chai ideas” room, described as a flexible shared space. The design incorporates Passivhaus principles, including a low-carbon timber structure and air-source heat pumps. A key feature is the Oculus, a large circular opening above the main entrance which will bring natural light into the building, while also glowing outward at night.
A spokesperson for Somerville told Cherwell that the College had “hosted a week-long internal consultation for students, fellows and staff” about the building, which included “360 feedback” that would be “fed into future planning discussions”.
The spokesperson added: “Students are also kept informed about ongoing developments to the building through the attendance of JCR and MCR representatives at both Finance Committee and Governing Body.”
