Plans for a striking timber-framed cycle pavilion at Oxford North have been approved by the city council.
The two-storey, radial pavilion, designed by project masterplanner Fletcher Priest Architects to reflect spokes of a wheel, will serve Phase 1a of the £700 million innovation district. It will be in Market Square alongside Red Hall and Central Park.
Short stay spaces and a bike repair station will be on the ground floor and there will be a power gulley on the stairs to help lift bikes to the first floor which will have 191 long-stay spaces. Showers will be provided in the basement of Red Hall.
The design of the pavilion is intended to minimise embodied carbon and energy usage.
David Camp, chief executive officer of Stanhope, said: “This decision is great news for cyclists. Our project is focused on transforming local travel habits and making cycling more convenient and sustainable for those working and visiting in the future.
“We have positioned the pavilion in a key location at the masterplan’s heart to celebrate the bicycle as a mode of sustainable transport. The circular timber structure will act as a focal point, adjacent to the recently consented, enhanced and expanded Red Hall, the central landscape and market square. The pavilion will provide secure long and short-stay spaces and repair facilities serving our three first-phase buildings that are currently under construction.”
Philip Pryke, senior associate Fletcher Priest Architects, said: “With Oxford one of the UK’s leading cycling cities, it will give bicycle use the prominence it deserves within the new urban district being created.
“Our two-storey approach reduces the building’s footprint and the main enclosed body of the pavilion being raised off the ground will deliver views across the market square. It is about ensuring the building is visible and accessible from all sides meaning that, along with the A40 and A44 cycle improvements, the decision to cycle to and from Oxford North will be as easy as possible.”
Practical completion of Phase 1a is planned for Q2 2025.
The team on Oxford North includes Fletcher Priest Architects, Savills, AKT II, Hoare Lea, Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Pritchard Themis, Turner & Townend Alinea, OFR Consultants, People Friendly Design, Gardiner & Theobald and QCIC.
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