Teddy Hall in lockdown

Aularians support accommodation regeneration

Teddy Hall is improving the Besse Building and the Forum Garden to create a modernised student accommodation including six self-contained apartments, offices and teaching rooms as well as a new green space for all Hall members to enjoy.

The Besse Building (49-56 High Street) renovation commenced in the spring of 2020 and its six new student apartments and 2 flats comprising 54 rooms - 70% of which are en-suite - will be ready to take on their first residents by October 2021. Part of the Hall’s strategic plan is to improve the quality of all College student accommodation over the coming eight years; therefore, the refurbishment also includes rewiring the building, installing ensuite bathrooms and fixing the roof. Thanks to the generous support of Aularians, the College has so far raised £300,000 to cover the additional costs of urgent roof repairs, ensuring it is fit for purpose for the next 50 years. Lastly, this grade II listed building will become more sustainable by adding upgraded insulation, double glazing and heat extraction from waste water.

View of the Besse Bulding from the High Street. Image Credit: Beard Construction

Greener, brighter, better

After a year’s delay due to the pandemic, the restoration of the Forum Garden has begun.

Situated at the heart of the College, the Forum Garden bounds the well-trodden north-south path between Staircase VIII on the High Street and the path from the Front Quad to the Wolfson Hall running east-west. This major new restoration project will revive and enhance the Garden with new plants, new trees, and additional seating and lighting.

An important part of the work has been to remove and replace over 20 tonnes of soil in the beds, all by hand with spade and wheelbarrow - a two-week-long job needing to be done, we hope, only every 40 years or so. Beforehand, a number of the existing plants and bulbs were removed from the beds and transferred to pots for use elsewhere in the College. New supports for climbing plants have been installed on the walls of the Wolfson Hall. We hope that Aularians will come to see this renewed outdoor space on their next visit to the College.

“Refurbishing a garden during a pandemic has been a real challenge, complicated even more so by the limited availability of plants this year and the significantly increased demand across the country. After a significant effort, most of the plants in the original design were found and are now in place and starting to grow. We are pleased with the results so far and hope to have everything in place by the time everyone is back for Michaelmas term.”

Professor Amy Zavatksy (Garden Fellow)

Forum Garden lighting simulation

Forum Garden lighting simulation

Images credit: Francesco Miniati, Original Field of Architecture

Biodiversity Survey: Assessing our sustainability baselines

As part of the Oxford Environmental Sustainability Strategy, Teddy Hall took part in a two week survey in Trinity term to assess the current status of nature at the Hall. Students and staff measured the abundance of earthworms, trees, birds and insects and we are now waiting for the results to come in. This survey will form a benchmark against which we can assess the College’s biodiversity outcomes in years to come as we plant more trees, preserve natural habitats and move forward on a path towards sustainability.

Teddy Hall aims “to become the greenest and most environmentally sustainable college in Oxford, with a stock of high-quality student accommodation and an estate that fully meets the needs of the College community.” Page 22, St Edmund Hall Strategy 2019-2029