Alison Brooks Architects’ competition-winning design will provide Homerton College at the University of Cambridge with a new entrance building and an expanded library.
Alison Brooks Architects has won a two-stage competition to design a new entrance building for Homerton College at the University of Cambridge. The practice overcame stiff competition from a shortlist comprising ADP, Chadwick Dryer Clarke, Charles Holland Architects, Page\Park, and Purcell.
The brief was to create a new entrance appropriate to the size and ambition of Cambridge’s newest college; including a new porters’ lodge, which will welcome first-time visitors and meets the needs of resident students; and to expand the college library, allowing it to host exhibitions as well as provide study space.
Site plan; ground, first and second-floor plans; concept diagrams
Conceived as a ‘college lantern’, the three-storey, timber-framed pavilion will occupy a new college square in front of the Mary Allan Building. The ground floor will accommodate the porters’ lodge and include a large foyer and exhibition space, a glazed link connecting the foyer to the existing library, and a wide veranda to welcome visitors from Hills Road.
A copper clad structure rising above the lodge will house the Children’s Literature Resource Centre on the first floor, with research rooms and a large storage area for books located on the second floor.
“We’re delighted with this opportunity to design Homerton College’s new entrance building and Children’s Literature Resource Centre as a welcoming ‘lantern’ and multi-purpose hub for the college’s communities”, commented Alison Brooks. “We’re very much inspired by Homerton’s campus and its arts and crafts legacy. We look forward to producing its first net zero mass timber building.”
