The Grade-II Listed home of a world-renowned educational charity has undergone a £38 million transformation.
The now complete refurbishment of Oxford’s Rhodes House, home of the Rhodes Trust, has extended and restructured the basement of the building to create three new basements housing a 300-capacity conference centre, new guest bedrooms and new office spaces.
The project also saw the creation of a five-metre-high structural glass pavilion, capable of housing 50 people.
READ MORE: Villagers fear new 20mph speed limits ignored
The building’s East Wing has been refurbished, returning it to its original residential use, providing 21-ensuite bedrooms. New commercial catering facilities were also installed in two new kitchens.
Dr Elizabeth Kiss, Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, said: “The transformed Rhodes House represents the Trust’s commitment to fostering a vibrant and diverse community of outstanding Scholars, based on inclusive excellence.
“This new world class building will be an ideal place for gathering, learning, collaborating and sharing, and will offer improved accessibility for all as we open our doors to new local and global audiences.”
The conference centre uses digital infrastructure and technology to allow audiences from around the world to participate and collaborate virtually.
The new basement provides 16 new ensuite guest bedrooms in a sunken residential courtyard and open-plan office space for up to 70 staff, freeing up former office space in the existing building for scholars.
A new post-tension, solid stone spiral staircase has been installed inside an existing marble-clad rotunda, providing access from the ground level to the foyer of the new conference centre.
Held within the existing arches by a compression ring, the staircase is held together by three tensioned steel cables. The staircase connects to a new foyer with areas to display public art.
The renovation of Rhodes House comes as the Trust launches a new campaign to fund the largest expansion of Scholarships in its history, with the goal of raising £200m to increase the number of worldwide Scholarships from 100 to 125 a year.
The Trust plans to create 32 new Scholarships per year for students from Africa by 2028.
The director of Beard Oxford, the company behind the construction, said: “This was a once-in-a-lifetime project to transform a landmark building of international renown and our reputation for craftsmanship and expertise in working heritage buildings was crucial to the success of the scheme.
“We are extremely proud to have delivered on the Trust’s vision for a series of magnificent, inclusive and remarkable spaces.”
Beard has a longstanding association with the University of Oxford, completing projects at Pembroke College and Brasenose College. The company also has significant ongoing construction projects at the university including St John’s College and Exeter College.”
Read more from this author
This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.
Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here