Best refurb over £3m
There were two commendations and one winner in this category.
Highly commended: 9-11 Portugal Place
Deep retrofit and extension of six Victorian terrace houses for St John’s College. The properties were degasified and their fabric upgraded. New extensions deliver larger amenity spaces and extra toilets for 43
postgraduate bedrooms.
Project team
Client: St John’s College, Cambridge
Architect: MCW Architects
Contractor: PML (Planning Manager Ltd)
Structural Engineer: Smith and Wallwork
M&E Design: Greengauge
Building physics and moisture risk assessment: Greengauge
AECB certifier: Greengauge
Landscape architect: Robert Myers Associates
Acoustician: Scotch and Partners
Planning advisor: Turley
Fire engineer: Affinity Fire Engineers
CDM Principal Designer: MCW Architects
Image credit: Photograph by (c) David Valinsky
Judges citation:
“Portugal Place is a well known central Cambridge terrace, and nos 9-11 are part of St John’s’ graduate accommodation. We all need to modernise and decarbonise such buildings, and St John’s came up with an innovative solution, adding rear metal-clad extensions which extend and enable better use of the tight internal spaces, adding more generous kitchens and community spaces and a garden. As part of its decarbonisation plan it’s a great success, both reducing energy use and switching to be fully electrically powered, and a potential model for other terraces.”
