The Entopia Building
The Entopia Building
A great night for our projects at the Greater Cambridge Design and Construction Awards 2025
At last night's Greater Cambridge Design and Construction Awards our projects were crowned the winner of one of the most competitive categories as well as two special awards.
King's College Chapel Roof was awarded the 'David Mackay award for Engineering and Sustainability' , and was highly commended in the 'Best refurbishment over £3M' category and for the 'Craftmanship Award'.
While Pembroke College Mill Lane won 'Best refurbishment over £3M' and the 'Craftmanship Award', as well as being highly commended for the 'David Mackay award for Engineering and Sustainability'.
The Greater Cambridge Design and Construction Awards "celebrate excellence in the design and construction of our built environment in Greater Cambridge. These awards honour the remarkable individuals and teams dedicated to innovative design and construction practices, alongside showcasing a diverse array of sizes, types and complexity of projects."
Our projects have a long history of being well-awarded at these awards, including winning both the 'David Mackay award for Engineering and Sustainability' and the 'Craftmanship Award' in 2023, 2022 and 2021.
You can read more about our winning projects and the judges' comments below:
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“We cannot imagine a better advertisement for ‘greening’ an iconic historic building in ways that not only don’t damage but arguably enhance its interest and reputation. After one year’s operation, it is performing well, generating 120MW in its first year[...]
The craftsmanship involved in the King’s Chapel Roof was impressive on any definition [...] and what a stunning project it is.
It was particularly complex because the Chapel needed to continue to operate throughout [...] The new solar panels were placed on top of new lead, and are totally removable without damaging the historic roof, if ever needed; equally they can be replaced as technologies evolve. It is an exquisite and hugely impressive project.”
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Pembroke College Mill Lane
Mill Lane is part of Pembroke College’s £75 million masterplan which balances new and heritage elements to deliver a range of facilities.
The development represents a significant expansion for the College, including a new residential court and the extension of several historic buildings. Phase 1 encompasses the creation of new social and gallery spaces, the conversion of a Grade II listed church, and the addition of a new courtyard garden. Phase 2 provides residential accommodation arranged around a new garden.
We delivered the environmental strategy, MEP design, acoustics and sustainability to the end of RIBA Stage 4 across both phases, as well as acoustics and sustainability services for Phase 2.
To create an efficient, low-energy asset that stands the test of time, we worked closely with the design team, clients, user groups, and key stakeholders. To ensure pleasant conditions to complement a range of event types with occupancy ranging from a few individuals to dense occupations, we developed environmental strategies in response to the users’ needs.
The new buildings within Phase 1 are constructed with an oak glulam timber frame. Careful consideration of façade design, daylighting optimisation, and modelling of heating and cooling loads through computational modelling has helped deliver robust and cutting-edge solutions to the operational demands of the buildings. The design provides a highly efficient site-wide heating and cooling system based on low-energy air source heat pumps.
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Fred Howarth / @fh_otography
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“The project needed to apply a vast range of craft skills due to its size, complexity and multi-faceted nature. The Mill Road complex presented huge challenges, and we were awed and impressed by the quality, detailing, diversity and beauty of what has been created. We particularly commend the recycling of materials, including timber and brick; the careful sourcing of new timber; the fact that where possible historic features have been left to add character and personality; and the clever integration of new features, such as the forged grille at the street entrance [...]
The multi-faceted and gas-free Mill Lane, utilising air source heat pumps, PVs, a rainwater harvesting tank, a wildflower roof, natural materials such as wood wool board and is performing well, achieving an upfront carbon figure of 220kg Co2/m2.”
