In 2021, we won a competition to develop a masterplan for Pembroke College, one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. Pembroke called it a ‘Spaces and Sustainability Masterplan’, emphasising their twin aims of maximising existing space and making buildings as energy efficient as possible.
We consulted everyone willing to talk: Fellows, students, reps from the JCR, MCR, head of strategy, the bursar, the home bursar, accessibility and welfare groups, gardeners, the maintenance team, accounts, librarians, archivists and the sustainability steering group. From more than 50 conversations, themes began to emerge that we could feed back to the steering group and use to develop the design, such as the need for a greater variety of spaces for collaborative study. This led to sites being identified for improvement, varying widely in scale, and confirmed the College’s priority projects:
a new library and research centre, including exhibition space
replacement student accommodation
and a welfare and administrative hub
Alongside the masterplan, a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) report advised on the general state of repair and condition of Pembroke’s properties and costed the first 3 years’ worth of work. Max Fordham led a successful application for Salix Finance which meant Pembroke could realise their sustainability ambitions a bit quicker. Air source heat pumps replaced end-of-life gas boilers in two gas-guzzling buildings. Fabric improvements for the Grade II listed Dining Hall included installation of heat emitters and a discreet entrance door to minimise draughts. These greatly improve the building's energy efficiency, not to mention the thermal comfort of the diners.
