H B Allen Centre | |
Address: | 25 Banbury Road |
Location City: | Oxford |
Location Country: | United Kingdom |
Coordinates: | 51.761°N -1.2609°W |
Opened Date: | 3 October 2019 |
Destruction Date: | --> |
Architect: | Rick Mather |
Architecture Firm: | MICA |
Unit Count: | --> |
The H B Allen Centre is the graduate centre of Keble College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.
The H B Allen Centre is named for Heather Barbara "Mickie" Allen, founder of the H B Allen Charitable Trust. Ms. Allen was a descendant of the founder of Beefeater Gin, James Burrough,[1] and also donated to RNLI for lifeboats in Padstow. The trust contributed a £25 million capital grant to assist with construction and fitting out of the new site.[2]
The centre was built on the site of the former Acland Hospital. Part of the old hospital, the Sarah Acland House, is a Grade II listed building, and a significant challenge in construction was preserving this structure.[3]
The H B Allen Centre was officially opened on 3 October 2019 (a year behind schedule) by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.[4]
The centre includes accommodation for 230 full-time graduates, as well as common area including two multipurpose rooms, laundry facilities, a gym, a café, and lecture theatre.[2]