Oxford has never been short of architectural ambition. From medieval quads to 20th-century set pieces, its colleges have long used buildings to convey not just status, but evolving ideas about education and community. 

Although from the street many appear as bastions of tradition, behind the cloistered walls there is a more urgent dynamic at play. Up until a few decades ago it was normal for students to live in college for their first year and then move into digs of varying degrees of insalubriousness strung out along arteries such as the Cowley Road. 

That model has all but disappeared. In its place, colleges are vying to offer a more complete experience – academically rigorous, socially cohesive and spatially integrated.

The expansion of high-quality student accommodation is central to this shift. Colleges increasingly seek to house undergraduates for the full duration of their degrees, recognising the benefits this brings in terms of academic focus and community cohesion. Architecture has long been one of the key ways that colleges signal their intent. And there is something of an arms race underway when it comes to student accommodation.

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