Wolfson Flats: Refurbishment Project
Situated on the north east of the Churchill College site, the Wolfson flats have been home to hundreds of Churchill Advanced students and their families for over 40 years.
The flats were originally built in 1965 by architect David Roberts and with the generous benefaction of the Wolfson Foundation.
The need for family accommodation has always been of great importance to us and at the time the flats were the largest provision of accommodation for students with partners and/or families within the University. For the past 40 years the flats have strengthened the post graduate community and provided a happy and safe home for their families while they have studied at Churchill.
Professor Njabulo Ndebele (G74)
The Proposal
The proposal to modernise the flats and deal with some key issues in the design have been worked on by our architect in partnership with the current residents. The main points that came up in discussion and need to be urgently addressed were as follow:
- Increase the living space in the family maisonettes to allow more flexibility;
- Re-organisation of the interior of the studio flats to make optimum use of the space
- Substantial changes to the staircases and walkways which are suffering from concrete erosion
- Re-roofing the entire court
A trial maisonette was completed in 2007 and is now lived in by an architecture graduate student along with his family; all of whom had previously lived in one of the un-modernised flats. The completion and subsequent occupancy of this flat has allowed us to assess and modify the design and see how the space is used in reality on a day to day basis. It also demonstrates in real terms what a dramatic difference this refurbishment will make to the future residents of the flats.
"Churchill College is already one of the very few colleges to provide ample accommodation to couples and families, and the planned refurbishment of the Wolfson flats will make them some of the best accommodation available to students.
This can only enhance the reputation of Churchill as a college that helps its students to achieve whatever their circumstances."
Sustainability
With any new building project sustainability must be a priority. Therefore we are proud that the current project exceeds building regulations in both thermal and solar insulation. The flats will be individually heated with electric under floor heating to not only contribute to a more usable space but to increase energy efficiency. We also aim to install solar panels on the roof to supplement the hot water heating.
Target
We have already secured £85k from the Colleges' Fund and £120k from the Wolfson Foundation, but we need your help to reach our target of £4.6 million to refurbish the whole court.
We are now two-thirds of the way through the project, with the help of a loan from Unity Trust Bank.
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For further information please contact the Development Office.
