The Bill Brown Creative Workshops have concluded their inaugural academic year, as a dynamic hub of creativity within the institution.
Over the past 12 months, the workshops have demonstrated remarkable flexibility in responding to student usage patterns. The facility’s three distinct levels have each evolved to better serve the academic community’s diverse creative needs, under the guidance of Lead Technician, Jonathan Woolf.
The digital space has seen students taking advantage of the advanced technology resources for multimedia projects, digital design work, and complex data analysis. In response to student requests, this term we added DaVinci Resolve Studio for professional quality video editing. Providing AI-powered audio tools, remix music, and Dolby Vision and HDR10+ grading, it opens up new creative possibilities. Recently, one of our students has used this to color grade and edit high quality drone videos for the Cambridge University drone society.
The second level makerspace has emerged as a cornerstone of the facility, with students utilizing the area for 3D printing, woodworking, and engineering projects. With software that supports the design of 3D print editing and creation, it has been used to create bespoke parts for NERF guns, for ear bud cases. The laser cutter has been used to engrave personalised items from keyrings to awards, as well as enabling precision cut acrylic to produce clock faces and more. New 3D printers have been added, with other equipment being added to the facility based on student demand.
This year has also seen the transformation of the top level into a dedicated arts, crafts, and materials area. This evolution reflects the organic way the workshops have grown to meet user demands. The space now serves as an ideal space to work on your latest project, from painting to clock-making. Staff members have particularly embraced the badge making equipment, now housed in this area, using it for various institutional projects, and student programs.
Students have not only utilized the existing resources but have also provided valuable feedback that has shaped the ongoing development of each floor. This user-driven approach has ensured that the spaces continue to evolve in meaningful ways.
“It is a fantastic feeling to push yourself out of your comfort zone and to leverage new skills to see the world in a different way.” Max Hubbard, student
The Project Space at the Bill Brown Creative Workshops (BBCW) has served as a site for integrative, cross-community-public engagement at Churchill College, where students are actively involved in curatorial and creative initiatives that strengthen the institution’s communal fabric. Exhibitions such as A Walk-Through College: A Journey Through Time enabled students to contribute meaningfully to archival research, digital design, and spatial interpretation, fostering critical dialogue around the College’s architectural and cultural heritage. Likewise, in projects such as Rivers: Voices of Change, students worked alongside researchers and international collaborators to synthesize fieldwork, documentary filmmaking, and environmental research, while Portrait of a College facilitated student participation in the co-creation of a living photographic archive, representing the College’s contemporary constituency. Through these initiatives, the BBCW cultivates a participatory culture in which creative practice functions simultaneously as research and as a mode of communal inquiry, reinforcing the College’s commitment to interdisciplinary exchange and sustainable community building.
Plans for the upcoming academic year include a significant expansion of the electronics element within the workshops. Building on the foundation of existing Raspberry Pi and Arduino resources, the facility will introduce additional electronic components, sensors, and development tools to support more advanced projects in physical computing and robotics. The enhanced electronics offerings will provide students with opportunities to explore emerging technologies while developing practical skills in circuit design, programming, and system integration.
Further exhibitions in the Project Space will also be featured, with this past year having seen a student-led project on the history of the College; a display by David Nash, RA; and a Fellow-led project capturing a snapshot in time of the College Community.
As the Bill Brown Creative Workshops enter their second year, they have established themselves as more than just a facility – they represent a philosophy of adaptive, student-centered learning that responds to real needs and interests.
