Emmanuel College, Cambridge by Stanton Williams

Rarely has Emmanuel College in Cambridge seen such intensive building work as in recent years. Under the direction of architects Stanton Williams, a 48-bed student residence, a new social centre for student community life and a third extension with teaching rooms have been built. The almost 6000 m² project was the most significant extension to the college in the last 100 years. For the client, it was a clear step towards the self-imposed goal of accommodating all undergraduate students in the college itself.

Student accommodation replaces car park

The site was a former car park on the southern edge of the college campus, acquired by the client for its extension. A new entrance courtyard has been created, dominated by the new three-storey Young's Court building.

The student residence had the difficult task of mediating between the monumental architecture of the older college buildings and the adjacent residential buildings to the south. Deep window reveals structure its facade, while the architects chose the reddish brickwork to echo the existing neighbouring buildings.

Carefully extended

Next door is Furness Lodge, a Victorian villa also renovated and extended by Stanton Willams. The old building now houses accessible seminar rooms and a new common room for postgraduate students. The extension provides additional apartments, music rehearsal rooms and a two-storey bar. Here, too, the red brick palette continues seamlessly.

A view of the Furness Lounge's two-storey bar with its wooden roof trusses. © Jack Hobhouse

A new social meeting place

The third new building on the college campus is located slightly to the north, between two older post-war student residences. The 150 m² social hub replaces an older student bar that was no longer worth maintaining, and also has a completely new look. Instead of low plasterboard ceilings, a column-free wooden beam ceiling spans the space, which is open to the outside on both sides. 

The 150 m² Social Hub is the new social hub at the heart of the college. Beneath the expansive wooden ceiling, the space opens to the outside on both sides. © Jack Hobhouse

50 % less CO2 emissions

The architects also placed great emphasis on the sustainability of their building project. Up to 70 % of the concrete was made using cement substitutes with a lower CO2 content. Heat and electricity are supplied by a geothermal heat pump, photovoltaic panels on the roof and a combined heat and power plant. Overall, the new buildings achieve a CO2 balance that is 50 % below the limit set by national energy regulations. About 40 % of the energy will come from renewable sources.