Our Oxford 'Science Cities' this September

Image: Cohen Quad, Alison Brooks Architects

Future Cities Forum will be holding its next Oxford 'Science Cities' forum this September at Exeter College Oxford's Cohen Quad in Walton Street, Oxford, re-designed as new premises with state-of-the-art facilities in 2017 by award-winning architect, Alison Brooks.

Exeter College Oxford is at the forefront of developing new science facilities for the city and the Bursar spoke at our recent forum about plans for EXOq, a newly proposed science hub, beyond north Oxford at Kidlington.

The college says:

'At the heart of the proposal is Sovereign High- Performance Compute (HPC) infrastructure to power and accelerate research of global significance and its commercial development. The data centres will be quantum compatible.

EXOq will support research and development in many areas requiring significant compute power and data storage capacity such as climate, advanced materials, particle physics, space and satellite technology, NHS data for drug development and the development of computer science and AI.

Beyond its strategic importance for the region and the UK, EXOq will deliver substantial benefits for local residents, including: a new park and amenities for Kidlington supporting the wellbeing of communities and tackling social isolation; a further education college providing skilled local employment opportunities in hardware and IT; a low-carbon heat facility for the area; and improved active travel links to Oxford city and Kidlington.

The Bursar, Nicholas Badman, who contributed to our forum, was asked how this new science park would be creating a new USP as an innovation district, how it would display sustainable principles and how it will be able to survive with so many competing campuses around the city?

Nicholas stated:

'It's a complex site. One of its key advantages is its location, it is adjacent to Parkway station, and part of our plan is to improve access to the station which will help East West Rail, the wider city and the Growth Corridor.

'At the top eastern end of the planned district we are only 200 metres from the station so we are working on cycle and pedestrian routes and connections over the bridge and barriers to that station.

'EXOq is not an isolated hub but will be good for Oxford, for the Oxford ecosystem, good for the region and potentially good for the nation. The idea is to centre the innovation districts around around high performance computing infrastructure to power the eco of Oxford. We have woven quantum into it because we believe Oxford has a reasonable standing on quantum globally, there are quantum computing companies in place locally, and while quantum may or may not work - people say it will be early 2030s before. commercial sales kick in - but the government's announcement of a procurement process of up to £2bn for quantum is helpful. We are very concerned that there is a commercial scale quantum computer located at EXOq - it is about the co-location of HPC with AI with quantum.

'We are big believers in the idea that for economic growth to work it has to work for everyone so we are offering upskilling to 18 year olds. We are planning a new FE college in the district. There is an explosion in the requirement for information jobs and the new college could help with those.

'We are determined to offer proper local benefits to the communities...the site is quite boggy but we will create a completely accessible parkland amenity, and also flood storage capacity by the canal. At the public consultation feedback was constructive. There is a feeling that Kidlington is a bit of a satellite but we think this development will push the gravity of Oxford north, as we are looking to create 7,000 jobs.'

Our forum at Cohen Quad will provide updates on this exciting science venture and continue the debate around whether the city can successfully and sustainably develop new housing with connected transport to provide for local workers as well as international talent.

Image below: Cohen Quad, Exeter College Oxford - courtesy of Alison Brooks Architects

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