Art for new £700m city project approved

Artwork for a new £700m innovation district has been approved.

Eight individual sculptures representing the planets from the Solar System will sit within the central landscaping area of the Oxford North innovation district.

It is being built by Oxford North Ventures, owned by Thomas White Oxford (TWO), the development company of St John's College, and two other companies.

Each sculpture is made from a glass polyhedron and will be lit from the inside in the evening, but will be turned off between 23:00 and 07:00 GMT in line with the wider lighting strategy for the site.

The proposed sculptures have been approved by Oxford City Council and will sit within a new two-acre public park named Fallaize Park in honour of Prof Elizabeth Fallaize, who died aged 59 in 2009.

She was St John's College's first female Fellow and Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

Each glass sculpture will sit on top of a four-metre-high tripod and feature different colours reflecting what you would see looking at the planet through a telescope.

They have been designed by Studio Olafur Eliasson which specialises in artwork inspired by science and innovation.

TWO says Oxford North will form the city's "new life sciences district".

Initial works are already under way on land near the A34, A40 and the A44.

Planning permission for Oxford North's masterplan was granted by Oxford City Council in March 2021.

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