Paradise Street, Oxford

Client: Bellway Homes

Role: Architecture

Introduction of a high density mixed use project to bring people back to live in the urban area.

Completed in 2005, the development, for 55 one and two bedroom flats, home/work units, employment spaces and student accommodation, sits on a restricted 0.60 ha site in a predominantly commercial area of central Oxford.

Our aim was to allow public access to a site that has been in private ownership for over 100 years and to connect the redevelopment sites to the west, via a pedestrian link, with the city centre. The east/west route is via a new urban square bounded by small businesses in office and studio accommodation, home/work units, gymnasium and bar. The square acts as a hub for the pedestrian routes than run east/west and to the south along the stream, creating a place of focus where people can meet and pause in the urban landscape.