In the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford's new university district, trees have been planted around the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. At over 25.000 m², the Hopkins Architects building is the largest construction project in the history of Oxford University. It opened in October 2025 and houses seven humanities faculties, the Oxford Internet Institute and the Institute for Ethics in AI, together with a concert hall, exhibition spaces, lecture halls and libraries. The development was made possible in part by a gift from Stephen A. Schwarzman, which has since risen to 185 million pounds.

Landscape architects Gillespies designed the outdoor space as a series of interconnected 'outdoor rooms': an arrival square for meeting and orientation, tranquil biodiverse gardens and planted terraces, sheltered courtyards, and cycle routes with secure parking. The aim was to transform the formerly fragmented, hard-landscaped former observatory district into a cohesive, green and accessible campus.

Van den Berk Nurseries supplied the appropriate range. Acer ×zoeschense 'Annae' provides structure in the smaller-scale areas with its compact crown and red to orange autumn colour. Heavily transplanted, solitary specimens of Carpinus betulus immediately form defining green elements. A Liquidambar styraciflua and a Styphnolobium japonicum (Japanese pagoda tree) provide seasonal interest through autumn colour and late summer flowering. The thornless Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis casts soft shade over the cycle parking with its light, translucent foliage. A Liriodendron tulipifera and a Tilia cordata 'Greenspire' complete the planting.