NEW DELHI: Tata Group and Somerville College, University of Oxford have announced to construction of the Ratan Tata Building which will represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand Somerville’s teaching and learning space, support research with global impact and articulate the College’s vision of a sustainable and forward-looking academic community. The construction will begin in Spring 2025.
The project is made possible by the decade-long friendship between Somerville College and the Chairman Emeritus of the Tata Group late Ratan Tata. Under the plan, new seminar rooms and offices will exist alongside spaces for shared study and interdisciplinary collaboration, reception rooms and accommodation for visiting academics.
Tata Group will also enable the creation of a permanent home for the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD) within the new building. The Centre will stand opposite the Blavatnik School of Government and will occupy the last remaining plot of land available for development on the prestigious Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site, mentioned in the press release.
The winning design for the building was produced by London-based architects Morris+Company in their first project at the University of Oxford.
N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, said, “In Tata’s vision for India, research and critical inquiry went hand in hand with development and prosperity. This partnership with Somerville College is a tribute to Ratan Tata’s values. The building in his name will be home to research that is necessary and urgent for India.”
Agencies