Architect will design humanities buildings within Viñoly masterplan

Bennetts Associates is to design a £180m development for Oxford University.

The architect won the competition to design a humanities facility over rivals David Chipperfield, Kohn Pedersen Fox and Wilkinson Eyre.

The humanities buildings will be delivered in two phases, with the first anticipated for completion in 2012. They will sit within the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter designed by Rafael Viñoly.

A spokesperson for the University of Oxford said: "The University has been hugely impressed by the effort made by the architects and the quality of ideas from each practice.

"The architects went through a rigorous selection process over several months including visits to their offices by the project sponsor group, building visits, user group workshops and finally interviews."

Viñoly’s masterplan for the 4.2ha Observatory Quarter is in the final stages of consultation, and will be presented to Oxford City Council in June.

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