Be visionary and bold, Oxford, and do not defer to the past

Can Oxford be a modern city? Yes. And surely it already is—with both universities and spin-out companies like Oxford Instruments at the forefront of global innovation. Or, look at the cultural scene: in recent months you could have witnessed the Playhouse's remarkable Amajuba from South Africa, or been awestruck by Mike Nelson's full-scale buried bunker at Modern Art Oxford. Both international firsts.

Here is a modern city searching for solutions to the world's problems and seeking new ways to describe and comprehend our 21st-century experiences.

So why does the idea of Oxford as a modern city feel like a project rather than a fact?

At this time of year, nothing beats watching the late afternoon sun raking the Clarendon Building, or the 17th-century gorgeousness of Wadham's quad.

But where can the modern city be found?

In the centre, the truly modern is almost invisible, squeezed out by geography, frightened out of sight by the conservationists and, under the patronage of the university, hidden behind the old.

There are exceptions. To stumble late at night across James Stirling's Florey Building is like discovering an alien space ship. Even more remarkable is St Catherine's College. Here the great Danish architect Arne Jacobsen teaches us how to be modern. The polished metal beams above your head in a common room shoot through the whole block. The brass door handles are sensuous sculptures for the hand. The architect's attention to detail is everywhere.

Contrast these and recent buildings of distinction, such as the Rothermere American Institute, with the acres or executive housing, mixing up architectural history but with little to say for themselves. And when there is the money for the best modern architecture where it can be seen, we are given classical pastiche at the Sackler Library or the Saïd Business School; well-designed like a spacious briefcase with lots of useful pockets, but not perhaps a thrilling addition to the urban landscape.

The best sign of the modern city is surely the buzz of people, especially young people, from all over the world. The worst sign must be the collective failure of the benches in Cornmarket Street.

But Oxford is changing, and with it the attitudes which have resisted the bold and the visionary. As a 'Creative City', Oxford is beginning to make better use of its artistic community. Developing Oxford's west end offers an opportunity to make a break-through in how we balance pedestrians, cycles, buses and cars. Imagine an Oxford in which green cycle lanes do not suddenly vanish. Imagine an Oxford in which a new Bonn Square is the setting for street theatre, jazz, and, in the winter months, breathtaking choral singing.

Being a modern city is about finding solutions that do not automatically defer to the past or existing precedents. Oxford the modern city needs to set precedents, not only in the arts and science, but in how it plans the architectural and social fabric. If Oxford truly cares about its heritage, it will want to be modern, inspired by the bold spirit of previous centuries, leading in every way.

Andrew Nairne

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