Eric Parry Architects is leading the design of the £750m Warneford Park mental health and medical research campus in Oxford, a major redevelopment for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the University of Oxford.
The 950,000 sqft scheme has received planning approval and will deliver a new purpose-built mental health hospital, a medical research and innovation centre focused on brain and mental health sciences, as well as a new University of Oxford graduate college on the existing Warneford Hospital site in Headington.
The redevelopment is intended to replace outdated inpatient facilities and co-locate mental health care, research and education on a single integrated campus in Oxford.
The master plan has two parts. The first is the delivery of new-build clinical and research facilities, including a purpose-built mental health hospital and a medical research and innovation centre.
The second is the retention and conversion of the site’s 200-year-old Grade II listed hospital buildings, which will be repurposed for University of Oxford college and wider academic campus uses once clinical services are relocated.
Eric Parry Architects is working with landscape architect Todd Longstaffe-Gowan to develop the site’s landscape strategy, alongside a multidisciplinary consultant team including engineers and other landscape specialists.
The design includes a sustainability-led approach incorporating rain gardens for sustainable drainage, along with ornamental gardens, productive planting areas for patients, and new habitats to enhance biodiversity and strengthen ecological links with the adjacent Warneford Meadow.
A main contractor has not yet been appointed.
Procurement is expected to follow the resolution to grant planning consent, once conditions and legal agreements are completed.
The design is structured around a phased delivery programme to allow the existing hospital to remain operational throughout construction.
Phased delivery of the redevelopment
The first phase of development is expected to focus on new-build facilities to the east of the site, including the mental health hospital and research centre.
The new hospital will replace existing inpatient accommodation with modern facilities designed around therapeutic environments, daylight access and landscaped external space.
The research and innovation centre will co-locate clinicians and academics to support translational research in mental health and neuroscience.
The graduate college will expand the University of Oxford’s estate within the campus, incorporating accommodation and teaching space alongside converted heritage buildings.
The scheme forms part of a wider long-term strategy to consolidate mental health services in Oxford and strengthen integration between clinical care, research and education within the Headington health and science cluster.