Days after Ratan Tata passed away, the Tata Group, in collaboration with Somerville College (University of Oxford), has announced the construction of a landmark building to honour the late industrialist. The construction of the building will begin in Spring 2025 at the heart of Oxford University's new Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, enabled by the significant philanthropic donation from the Tata Group, it added.
It will be named the Ratan Tata Building and will house new seminar rooms and offices, existing alongside spaces for shared study and interdisciplinary collaboration, reception rooms and accommodation for visiting academics.
It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand Somerville's teaching and learning space, support research with global impact, and articulate the college's vision of a sustainable and forward-looking academic community, a joint statement by the Tata group and Somerville College said.
The Tata Building will stand opposite the internationally renowned Blavatnik School of Government, and will occupy the last remaining plot of land available for development on the prestigious Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site, directly opposite the new Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, the statement said.
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"In Mr Tata's vision for India, research and critical inquiry went hand in hand with development and prosperity. This partnership with Somerville College is a tribute to Mr Tata's values. The building in his name will be a home to research that is necessary and urgent for India," Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
Somerville College Principal, Baroness Royall said, "The building is the fruit of many conversations, hopes and dreams over the past decade and our long association with Mr Tata."
(With inputs from PTI)
