The project was developed during 2024 working with local consultant expertise to review our current buildings, performance and condition, to identify how we could achieve our aspirational targets.  A detailed site-wide building-by-building plan was produced and adopted by the College in March 2025. 

Design work is now underway, focused on West Court and the Sheppard Flats as the first projects, but developing the site wide plans and seeking outline planning consent for all works later in 2025.  Ongoing review of the early projects will feed into subsequent works as we plan to bring forward main court/building for refurbishment and decarbonisation over the next 5-10 years.

Comprehensive refurbishment of the residential courts will improve the comfort, functionality and environmental sustainability for our students, Fellows and visitors.  Our students love much about their rooms but we have worked with them to better understand the key improvements they’d like to see, to make them even better.  Plans currently include improvements to bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms and communal areas, to meet expected modern standards, matching or exceeding other rooms in Cambridge colleges.

Refurbishment on this scale gives great opportunity to address climate change challenges.  As we refurbish, we’ll refurbish and upgrade windows and doors to high-tech vacuum sealed glazing with exceptional thermal and noise insulation, install wall insulation to all external walls, move to localised direct hot water provision and site wide heating through the district heat network via air source heat pumps. The fabric improvements will enable the move to highly efficient, low-temperature heat provided by air source heat pumps.  This will also allow for some comfort cooling to rooms to offset the affects of anticipated climate change using our renewable energy generated by solar PV.

The project comprises four interrelated work streams contributing to a comprehensive transformation of the College’s estate:

1. Asset Refurbishment

Having never undergone a major refurbishment, many building elements are reaching the end of their useful life. This work stream focuses on updating these elements to meet modern standards of comfort, safety, and performance, ensuring the longevity of the College infrastructure.

2. Remodelling

Since the College was first occupied, the patterns of use and the needs of the student community have evolved significantly. This project is an opportunity to reconfigure and adapt residential areas to better support current and future requirements. The re-modelling will be concentrated within the residential blocks, focused on staircase communal kitchens/bathrooms areas and ensuite provision.

3. Fabric Thermal Upgrade

The existing buildings are primarily uninsulated and have single-glazed windows, resulting in poor thermal performance. This work stream proposes internal or cavity wall insulation (to preserve the external appearance), window re-glazing, and improved insulation  around projecting bay windows. These upgrades will enhance energy efficiency and are designed to be implemented alongside the  refurbishment works, primarily within the residential courts.

4. Heat Decarbonisation

To support the College’s sustainability goals, the project will replace the existing gas-based systems with a fully electric energy strategy.  This will involve establishing a central energy centre for space heating and decentralised systems for hot water provision, moving the  estate toward a low-carbon future.

The benefits of the project include updating the buildings to be fit for the next 60 years, as well as responding to the changing use patterns and needs. It also offers significant sustainability benefits.

Delivering these workstreams simultaneously also means there is:

• Improved cost efficiency (avoiding multiple site and logistics costs)

• Reduced disruption to College life during the works

• Accelerated improvements in occupant comfort and building performance

• Early reductions in energy use, carbon emissions, and operating costs

• A holistic and integrated approach to planning fabric upgrades and decarbonisation in line with Historic England’s Whole Building

• A streamlined approach to planning and heritage engagement and approvals.

• Lower overall professional and consultancy fees

Sustainability is a real priority for Churchill College and we have been working to reduce our carbon emissions over the past few years.  This has included installation of solar PV on several buildings and refurbishment of our hostels in line with Enerphit principles.  In early 2025, the College approved moving forward with plans for larger scale building refurbishment and decarbonisation.

A significant investment was agreed to develop the design aspects of the plan at a high level for the whole sit and more detailed design for West Court and Sheppard Flats as an early project.

We plan to improve and upgrade our student accommodation and other buildings for the comfort of our students, fellows, staff and visitors while at the same time removing the use of gas and significantly reducing our carbon emissions.  With STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) at the heart of the College’s founding principles, leading the way in addressing the climate challenge through innovation and new technology in the context of Grade II Listed Buildings is seen as part of Think Forward campaign.  This is aimed at bringing the best students and the best researchers here, to make a difference to people’s lives and to go from Cambridge to help to transform the world.

The College aims to remove the use of gas and cut our emissions by c95% over the next 10 years.  Gas is currently responsible for 90% of our energy use and carbon emissions. This should see our emissions reduce from c2,500t/CO²   to c100t/CO² as we move to air source heat pumps, improvements to our building fabric and increase our use of on-site renewables.

Through a combined approach of energy demand reduction, electrification, and renewable energy integration, the College aims to significantly enhance building performance and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035. This aligns with the University of Cambridge’s wider ambition to reach absolute zero carbon emissions from energy use by 2048.

Our objective is to limit all negative ecological impacts and instead have a strongly positive effect on biodiversity and natural landscapes.

We consider areas such as water consumption through careful selection of fixtures and fittings, and other water saving and renewable technologies.  Water consumption and reducing this is essential in an area such as East Anglia where pressure on water supply is so high.

Churchill College is very focused on biodiversity as evident throughout the extensive grounds and gardens.  Opportunities to build on this will be part of our plans and might include for example bat and swift boxes, bee bricks, sustainable drainage and planting, and more wildflower meadowing.

The College community values the heritage of the buildings and they are without doubt some of the finest examples of 1960s brutalist architecture in Cambridge and the UK.  This is reflected more widely too as the buildings have Grade II listed status.  Proposed works are intended to respect the buildings’ heritage and will be guided by both our site-wide Heritage Appraisal produced by Purcell in 2019, local conservation officers and expert groups such as the Twentieth Century Society.

Planned works minimise that which may affect the external appearance of our buildings but are also mindful of key internal features too.  We will refurbish and restore our original window frames where possible, simply replacing the original single glazing with high performing, thin vacuum glazing with minimal visual appearance change.  Low temperature air source heat pumps will work similarly to the current system, allowing us to retain the bay window seats but providing some cooling in the summer.  We will seek to install modern internal or cavity wall insulation to external walls only replacing any existing picture rails and skirting, preserving the building fabric.

Any re-modelling works will be carefully considered and reviewed to make sure that the functional benefit is of minimal detriment to the heritage of the buildings.  We need to reflect changing demands and requirements and are confident that we can do this well, retaining the pride we have in our wonderful student rooms.

Bidwells is a leading real estate adviser specialising in many pioneering sectors such as sustainability and modern living solutions.  They advise many Cambridge and Oxford Colleges, advising many on developing and implementing refurbishment, redevelopment and decarbonisation plans.  They are project managers for the overall programme of works as well as advising on building surveying for the Sheppard Flats refurbishments.

A multi-disciplinary property business, offering a ‘joined-up’ or ‘complete development life-cycle’ service by working in collaboration with their development and masterplanning teams. Their planning team have been involved in numerous significant Cambridge College projects over many years.  They are providing planning advice to the College working alongside Purcell providing heritage advice.

A cost management business founded on a collective 60+ years in the construction industry. They relish and successfully overcome challenges in all aspects of construction with a positive ‘can do’ attitude, founded on specialist knowledge at the heart of everything it does. CB3 costed our proposals and continue to advise on all cost consultancy matters, including whole life cost assessments of some aspects of our planned works.

Vermeulen Architecture is an award-winning RIBA Chartered Practice with more than two decades of experience designing and building spaces for communities, Institutions and individuals. They previously designed the College’s Pepperpots, Wallace House, Boyd House and 36C Storey’s Way, some of our postgraduate accommodation. Simon Tucker of C&VA is also the College’s Consultant Architect.

Led by Joel Gustafsson, their ethos is based on delivering successful buildings that provide amenity, comfort and space without wasting energy. Their expertise in mechanical, electrical and environmental engineering is central to delivering optimised, coherent designs that balance these competing needs. They were a key part of developing our plan, assessing our baseline performance and recommended approach.

Purcell is a leading architecture, masterplanning, and heritage consultancy with a focus on protecting, enhancing, and evolving the world’s most significant historic buildings and places. They produced the College’s  2021 site-wide Heritage Appraisal, an invaluable document when considering any changes to the College’s buildings or site.  They will be working closely with Carter Jonas who are providing planning advice.