The Cheng Yu Tung Building opened on the site of the old Northgate House in the centre of Oxford in the summer of 2022. It was Jesus College’s largest transformation project since the early 18th century, significantly enhancing the College’s teaching and research facilities and providing Oxford with new and unique conferencing and events spaces and retail units.
The building, designed by MICA Architects, combines new postgraduate accommodation, indoor and outdoor communal spaces and exceptional teaching facilities, as well as a Digital Hub that will utilise the latest digital technologies to enrich learning for our students, enhance the world-leading academic research of our Fellows, and enable the College to reach more young people through its Access & Outreach programmes.
The multi-storey space is connected by a sweeping, generous stair which becomes a forum for up to 500 people to join large events, with integrated digital displays and connectivity for mass interactive events. With exciting new vistas of Cornmarket and Market Street, it is also hoped that the development will attract more members of the public and Oxford visitors to explore this historic part of the city.
Three GP practices – King Edward Street Medical Practice, 27 Beaumont Street Medical Practice and 28 Beaumont Street GP Practice – have relocated to the newly-named Northgate Health Centre. The health centre, accessible via Market Street, will serve a patient population of around 20,000 (including a significant student population) living in or close to the city centre.
The founding of the College’s new building was made possible, in large part, by a transformative £15 million donation to the College’s 450th Anniversary campaign by Dr Henry Cheng Kar Shun, a Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist, through his London-based property company Knight Dragon. The development is named in honour of Dr Cheng’s father, Dr Cheng Yu Tung.
The £40 million development was granted planning in 2018.