Darwin College

Cambridge, United Kingdom 2018–present

Client: Darwin College, University of Cambridge Grade II listed

Darwin College was founded in 1964 and was the first college at the University of Cambridge intended exclusively for graduate students. Today, Darwin College is the largest graduate college in Cambridge. The main college campus binds together domestically scaled buildings from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and some of these buildings are now listed. The College has beautiful gardens along the River Cam, with an aspect over Coe Fen on the west side of the city.

Caruso St John was appointed in 2018 to prepare a masterplan for the coordination of further works to the central area of the campus. The plan provides more social spaces for the expanding studentship and focuses on improving college facilities and making more of the buildings accessible.

Site plan

Ground floor plan

First floor plan

Street elevations

Garden elevations

Thermal upgrades are made opportunistically, without impacting the character of the existing buildings. Improvements include airtightness, upgraded glazing, and enhanced insulation to the roofs, walls, and floors.