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Newnham College, Cambridge

Cambridge

Project Details

New Build

Practice

Walters & Cohen Architects

2 Wilkin Street , LONDON , NW5 3NL , United Kingdom

In 2014 Walters & Cohen won an invited competition to design new accommodation for Newnham College, one of the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge. The original brief was to design a new 75-bedroom student residence on the tennis courts. The College had two other projects in mind, and we created a masterplan that considered all their ambitions in a wider context. This led to an alternative proposal: demolition of a building at the end of its life to make space for our new building, knitting in among those by Basil Champneys. Inspired by the same arts and crafts tenet of 'truth to materials’, the contemporary perforated handmade brick detail complements but does not mimic Champneys’ buildings. The Dorothy Garrod building comprises a new entrance, a welcoming Porters’ Lodge, conference facilities, a rooftop gym, staff offices, meeting and supervision rooms, 86 generous en-suite student bedrooms, kitchen/social areas with plenty of space to cook and eat together, and a café that invites students to linger and work in the heart of the College.