18-580: The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit ( WildCRU ) is part of the Department of Zoology at the University of Oxford in England . Its mission is to achieve practical solutions to conservation problems through original scientific research , training conservation scientists to conduct research, putting scientific knowledge into practice, and educating and involving the public to achieve lasting solutions. The Unit
36-673: A new £200m, 26,000 sq/m building, named the Life & Mind Building , scheduled to open in 2024. Planning permission was granted in early 2021. On completion, the building will house the Department of Biology and the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. Sir Leslie Martin Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000)
54-620: A number of academic buildings including halls of residence Harvey Court for Gonville and Caius College , one of the most important examples of brick brutalism , and the William Stone Building for Peterhouse ; and the Tinbergen Building and the St. Cross faculty libraries for Oxford University . Martin was also the masterplanner for Leicester University . One of his later projects was an extension to Kettle's Yard Art Gallery to house
72-551: The Banqueting Hall as a traffic island and the original Scotland Yard building enveloped in the middle of a courtyard of offices. The plans met with determined opposition from the public and conservation groups, especially the Victorian Society , and their implementation was delayed. Edward Heath 's government eventually formally abandoned Martin's plan in 1971. The existing buildings were subsequently restored and opened to
90-804: The Crafoord Prize ( Bill Hamilton , Ilkka Hanski , Bob May ), the Kyoto Prize ( Bill Hamilton ) and Blue Planet Prize ( Bob May ), as well as four winners of the Copley Medal (the Royal Society's premier research award). The Department of Zoology was housed in the Tinbergen Building in Oxford, designed in 1965 by Sir Leslie Martin (who also designed the Royal Festival Hall ) and opened in 1971,
108-819: The Ethiopian wolf , Grevy's zebra and endemic birds in the Galapagos Islands , finding solutions to bushmeat exploitation in West Africa , community conservation education in Africa , sustainable farming , badger ecology and behavior, and the impact of American mink on native wildlife in Britain , Belarus , and Argentina . WildCRU is located in Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney , Oxfordshire . Department of Zoology, University of Oxford The Department of Zoology
126-794: The British government commissioned Martin to draw plans for a wholesale demolition and redevelopment of the area between St James's Park and the Thames Embankment in London. It would have involved the demolition of most of the Victorian and Edwardian government offices (the Foreign Office, the Commonwealth Office, the old Home Office, etc.) in Whitehall , which were then scheduled for demolition, and left
144-543: The Second World War Martin was assigned to the pre-nationalisation Railway companies to supervise re-building of bomb-damaged regional rail stations. In this capacity Martin developed pre-fabricated designs to speed construction. Following the war he was made a Deputy Architect to the London County Council (LCC), and in 1948 Hugh Casson selected him to lead the design team for the Royal Festival Hall ,
162-548: The Tinbergen Building was a large Modernist building housing over 1,600 staff and students. It was Oxford University's largest building. In February 2017, university officials announced that the Tinbergen Building would be closed for two years and all research and teaching activities of the Zoology Department would be moved elsewhere. This was due to the discovery of more asbestos than had been previously known; too much than could be removed during necessary maintenance with
180-404: The building remaining occupied. On the 1 August 2022 the Department of Zoology merged with the Department of Plant Sciences to form the Department of Biology . The Department of Biology currently primarily located in various places, including temporary accommodation at 11a Mansfield Road and on South Parks Road. The Tinbergen Building was demolished in spring 2020. It is to be replaced by
198-624: The most prestigious building project of the Festival of Britain . Partly in recognition of his achievement, Martin was made Chief Architect of the LCC in 1953; he used his position to promote emerging younger architects Colin St. John Wilson , James Stirling , and Alison and Peter Smithson . From 1956, he was made head of the Architecture School at Cambridge University where Colin St John Wilson
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#1733085681483216-647: The problem, education to explain it, community involvement to ensure participation and acceptance, and implementation of a solution. The approach is interdisciplinary , linking to public health , community development and animal welfare . In a new initiative concerning ‘ biodiversity and business ’, WildCRU is working directly to influence policy making processes in industry . Current project areas include saving endangered species , resolving conflict, reconciling farming and wildlife , researching fundamental ecology , and managing wildlife diseases , pests and invasive species . Specific projects include protecting
234-538: The public. Taking a broader view of Martin's work, a picture emerges of the man as a quiet achiever par excellence . Through his skilled networking in support of promising younger architects, and his self-effacing work on committees, he strongly influenced the course of post-war British architecture. "He was efficient, cooperative, impeccably well networked and calmly authoritative, justifying his advice with his immense architectural expertise and his scientific investigations of planning needs." Martin with Wilson completed
252-492: The works of Dame Barbara Hepworth , Ben Nicholson, and others. Martin and his wife, Sadie Speight, were responsible for the modernist house Brackenfell (Grade II listed) in Brampton , Cumbria . Designed in 1936 and completed in 1938 for textile designer and artist Alastair Morton, of Edinburgh Weavers. The interior colour scheme was reputedly designed by Ben Nicholson who lived locally when married to Winifred Roberts . Brackenfell
270-491: Was a former science department in the University of Oxford 's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division founded in 1860. From 1 August 2022 its functionality merged with the Department of Plant Sciences to become the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford . Many distinguished scientists worked in the department at various stages in their careers, including three Nobel Laureates ( Peter Medawar , Niko Tinbergen , and Sir John Gurdon ), three winners of
288-575: Was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style . Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall . His work was especially influenced by Alvar Aalto . After studying at Manchester University , Leslie Martin taught at the University of Hull . In 1937 he co-edited with Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo the journal Circle , which reviewed avant-garde abstract art and architecture. In 1939 Martin and his wife, Sadie Speight , co-wrote The flat book . During
306-584: Was founded in 1986 by Professor David W. Macdonald . In 2022 Professor Amy Dickman took over from David W. Macdonald as Director. Members come from more than 30 countries and many have returned to hold influential roles in conservation. WildCRU research has been used to advise policy-makers worldwide. More than 300 scientific papers and 25 reports have been published, over a hundred fruitful collaborations have been fostered, and over 45 students have completed doctoral theses. WildCRU projects use all four elements of their Conservation Quartet: research to understand
324-625: Was his assistant. He was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford for 1965–66. Martin was involved initially with Patrick Hodgkinson in the Brunswick Centre , an early experiment in planned mixed-use development in Bloomsbury that was partially completed. The 1950s also saw the creation of the Loughborough Estate in Brixton , south London, designed by Martin. In the 1960s
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