Creative Centre, Churchill College

A new exhibition and workshop space to be located within a former oil store for Churchill College at the University of Cambridge. The existing structure was originally designed in 1958 by architects Sheppard Robson + Partners and is now redundant as the college is no longer heated using oil fired boilers.

Oil tanks were previously removed from the store, leaving the simple brick structure empty and open to the elements. The new building will be created by inserting an insulated timber stud frame making use of the the existing footprint.

The oil tanks shown on the original construction drawings.

With the four walls of the building being solid and subject to listed building status, the floor and the roof became the focus for introduction of fresh air and natural light.

Existing Concrete Floor & Trench

A vapour permeable thermal insulation strategy was developed for the existing listed walls using wood fibre and breathable lime render. The new floor and new roof are insulated to more contemporary standards, with wood fibre added to the timber roof structure to help provide some small increase in thermal inertia.

Thermal Insulation Strategy

The floor was developed to incoporate a fresh air inlet path for the building. A new finishing layer of concrete with damp proof course was deployed over the existing floor, the intention being to use the thermal capacity of this concrete to help regulate the temperature of the fresh air entering the void and the building.

Devlopment of the floor build up

The ventilation strategy uses the concrete floor void as the air inlet path and opening rooflights as the air outlet path. The main exhibition space uses simple proprietary smoke ventilators, chosen for their ability to provide increased free area, integrated into the new timber roof.
Air is delivered into rooms through opening panels incoporated into the walls.

Ventilation Concept

The existing brick facade will incoporate a hit and miss arrangement to allow fresh air to be drawn into the below building air path.