New College’s Gradel Quad has officially opened after month-long delays. The Quad, opened by Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Irene Tracey, was built to provide college accommodation for the majority of third-year students at New College. However, construction delays left students living in a hotel for Michaelmas term. The hotel, four miles from the City Centre, left students with long daily commutes, and an incident involving an escort was reported by a student.
Speaking to Cherwell, a New College student said: “Living in Gradel Quad has been a great experience so far. Having recently injured myself it’s been amazing to have disabled-friendly accommodation so close to college.” Another New College student said: “it’s brilliant to have the third years integrated as a part of the college community.”
The opening was attended by the Lord Mayor, Lubna Arshad, and key donor, Chris Gradel. It marks New College becoming the latest in a string of colleges to assure accommodation for nearly all undergraduates. Speaking at the opening, New College Warden, Miles Young, said: “We are immensely grateful to Chris Gradel as the foundation donor of this project. It allows us to house 94 third-year students in college, releasing pressure on the Oxford housing market.”
Although the majority of residents moved in at the beginning of Hilary term, the opening was delayed to allow for the completion of New Warham House. Parts of the development were opposed by Mansfield College, who argued that the tower on New Warham House impedes the privacy of Mansfield students, as it overlooks their residential quad. The accommodation includes student flats with kitchens and accessible rooms.
The buildings were designed by David Kohn as was described by Historic England “one of the very few instances where contemporary design can be considered genuinely outstanding”.
Young has said: “We are thrilled that, as novel and as original as they are, these buildings already feel like an intrinsic part of student life at New College. Even though there’s still a little more work to do, they’ve already shown their usefulness.”
