St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, has unveiled its major refresh by London-based studio Gort Scott. The project seeks to create a series of new, social spaces set to become the heart of the campus, weaving together existing areas and giving them a facelift, while ensuring the integrity of the historic fabric of the university's estate (originally founded in 1473) remains intact.
St Catharine’s College, Cambridge by Gort Scott
The architectural reimagining of the communal areas at the college not only offer a fresh, crisp building envelope for the students and faculty; they also were crucial in improving accessibility and circulation across the whole complex. Various additions, extensions and repurposed parts over the years had left the campus with awkward spaces, in need of a strategic overhaul.
Much of Gort Scott's surgical work on the building fabric involved 'harmonising and connecting'. The affected areas span facilities such as the hall, chapel, libraries, function rooms (including the senior common room), gym, music room, kitchens and busy service areas.
Balancing layers of history and listed structures (including the Grade I-listed Main Court and the ancillary Chapel Court), the architects inserted new elements and interiors, creating a new hall with warm wood panelling and a sculptural feature chandelier, as well as a new gallery, and a rethought network of connecting spaces throughout. Gort Scott collaborated with heritage specialist Marcus Beale Architects on the period parts of the project.
'We’re thrilled that St Catharine’s College is pleased with the way the reconfigured central spaces have enhanced the life of the College – with the reimagined hall as its centrepiece. It is great to walk around and see how the completed project has also been transformative for accessibility and inclusion. Old and new parts of the college are now connected as never before through careful placement of a lift and staircase in a new, light-filled atrium and garden room,' said Jay Gort, director at Gort Scott.
-
How architects are redefining disaster relief through designDisaster relief architecture is a critical component of humanitarian aid across the globe; read our ultimate guide on how architects can make a difference through design
-
Paul Gulati on storytelling, multi-sensory design and the evolution of Universal Design Studio'f a space works – not just as a beautiful image, but for the people using it – then we’ve done our job,' he tells us
-
Seiko and Datsun mark a shared heritage and history with three new limited-edition watchesThe Japanese brands pay tribute to the Datsun 240Z and Prospex Speedtimer in a new collaboration
-
Meet Studio Knight Stokoe, the landscape architects guided by ‘resilience, regeneration and empathy’Boutique and agile, Studio Knight Stokoe crafts elegant landscapes from its base in the southwest of England – including a revived brutalist garden
-
Tour this compact Kent Coast jewel of a cabin with StudiomamaJack Mama and Nina Tolstrup take us on a tour of their latest project – a small but perfectly formed Kent Coast cabin in Seasalter, UK
-
Boutique London rental development celebrates European courtyard livingLondon design and development studio Wendover unveils its newest residential project, 20 Newcourt Street, comprising nine apartments; we toured with co-founder Gabriel Chipperfield
-
A refreshed Fulham house balances its history with a series of 21st-century interventionsA Fulham house project by Bureau de Change creates a 21st-century domestic haven through a series of contemporary interventions and a deep connection to the property's historical fabric
-
The Monthly Architecture Edit: Wallpaper’s favourite July housesFrom geometric Japanese cottages to restored modernist masterpieces, these are the best residential projects to have crossed the architecture desk this month
-
Visiting an experimental UK home: welcome to HousesteadThis experimental UK home, Housestead by Sanei + Hopkins, brings together architectural explorations and daily life in these architects’ own home
-
A house in Leamington Spa is a domestic oasis infused with contemporary sensibilitiesThis house in Leamington Spa, by John Pardey Architects, brings together flood risk considerations, a conservation area's historic character, and contemporary sensibilities
-
A garden explaining carbon capture in nature? Head to Kew in LondonKew unveils 'Carbon Garden', a new offering at London's Royal Botanic Gardens that's all about carbon capture within nature; and how plants and soil can be leveraged to help us battle climate change
