David Kohn Architects' competition-winning scheme for a new campus for New College, Oxford, officially opened in April 2024, marking a significant milestone for the project, named the Gradel Quadrangles after the principal donor.

 

 

 

 

New College was the site of the first planned quad in 1403, a model that has influenced educational institutions globally for over six hundred years. The leafy semi-suburban site offers the opportunity to reimagine the quad as a model for a learning community for the twenty-first century - departing from the quad’s closed origins and seeking a contemporary interpretation that enjoys a fluid and open relationship with the surrounding city and nature.

 

 

 

Alongside new 94 new student rooms, the project includes shared kitchens, a music hall, and dedicated student study space. New facilities for the adjacent New College School, a boys’ preparatory school, adjoin the main building. A tower, housing a new charitable institute, and gatehouse complete the composition.

 

 

 

 

 

"When you walk into the Gradel Quadrangles, the first thing you see is a contemporary statue of our founder, William of Wykeham. He was an innovator, and David Kohn has emulated his spirit in a remarkable way. There is a truly collegiate sense of place but in a highly original form. Most important of all, our students just love living there."