Founded in 1473, St. Catharine’s College is one of the oldest members of the University of Cambridge. Landlocked by neighbouring colleges, the core social spaces of St. Catharine’s have suffered a congested and piecemeal adaption of a 1960s brutalist redevelopment which has since fallen out of taste and become muddled in its usefulness.
To clarify the architectural identity and functionality of these spaces the proposal strips superficial layers back to reveal the underlying structural essence. It then introduces a new holistic family of linings, and an ensemble of new volumes with which previously disparate spaces become interconnected.
The new volumes added include a vitrine of glass shingles, added to the hall to both give it presence in, and mediate with, the neighbouring Chapel Court. A new circulation gallery to the side of the hall links important common rooms and the college’s Sherlock Library back to the vitrine and court.
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