Best refurb over £3m
There were two commendations and one winner in this category.
Highly commended: the Erasmus Building, Queen’s College
Refurbishment and decarbonisation of the Erasmus Building, Queens’ College, Cambridge
Refurbishment, accessibility improvements and sustainability improvements to this well-known early modernist Queens’ College accommodation building on the river.
Client: The Queen’s College of St Margaret and St Bernard
Project Manager: Northmores
Architect: Haysom Ward Miller Architects
Services/Energy Consultants: Joel Gustafsson Consulting
Quantity Surveyors: 3G Construction Consultants
Structural Engineers: CAR Ltd
Planning Consultant: Turley
CDM Co-ordinator: Philip Law
Fire Engineers: BB7
Building Control: RH Building Consultancy Ltd
Main Contractor: Regent Construction (Cambridge) Ltd
Building Services: Munro
Image: Erasmus building in context – view from W photograph copyright Richard Fraser Photography
Judges citation:
“The Erasmus Building is a purpose-built student accommodation block on a tight site inside Queen’s, designed by Basil Spence in the 1960s but poorly refurbished in the past – again, not a unique story. Queen’s is just beginning its net zero path and used the opportunity of refurbishing the Erasmus Building not only to radically improve that building but to establish a plant complex on its roof which will facilitate other projects nearby. The project has recovered some of the lost charm of a distinctive building, while adding crucial contemporary features including shutters for shading, a lift and a system for heating that can also cool, particularly useful in a warming climate.”
