Mill Lane, Pembroke College, University of Cambridge

Phase 1 encompassed the restoration and alteration of 4 and 6 Mill Lane as well as the former United Reformed Church on Trumpington Street to create new social and gallery spaces, including a cafe with a basement kitchen. 

4 Mill Lane

4 Mill Lane was sympathetically converted into spaces for teaching, training, conferences and summer language school programmes. Its location adjacent to Mill Lane and Mill Pond meant the windows could not be utilised for ventilation due to external noise, which could disrupt teaching activities.

The wall linings within each space were carefully designed and coordinated to accommodate ventilation ductwork from three central MVHR units located at basement level, alongside local fan coil units providing cooling and supplementary heating. Supplementary heating is provided by cased natural convectors. The wall linings also allow full access to the fan coil units, ensuring straightforward future maintenance.

6 Mill Lane

6 Mill Lane was transformed into a social hub featuring a basement kitchen, ground-floor café and a range of adaptable social spaces. 

Locating the kitchen within the basement required careful coordination of ventilation services to manage kitchen exhaust. Existing lightwell windows were repurposed to vent exhaust air after treatment through an odour control and treatment unit. A new vertical ventilation route was created off the back of a lift shaft, ensuring supply air remained separate from exhaust air and preventing recirculation. The roof termination was carefully detailed to complement the building's copper roof finish.

Former Emmanuel United Reformed Church

The Grade II-listed former Emmanuel United Reformed Church has been converted into a 150-seat lecture theatre and performance venue, capable of incorporating all of Cambridge University's AV requirements. New performance audiovisual equipment and lighting were installed throughout, and with additions carefully concealed to preserve the architectural character of the building, including a large projection screen hidden beneath the stage when not in use.

The existing church organ was retained, and the internal pews and timber linings were reused to create perimeter seating and linings to conceal new heat emitters in character with the building. The church is heated using underfloor heating, supplemented by the concealed perimeter emitters which are sized to deliver the required heat output from the reduced heat network temperatures supplied by the central ASHPs. 

The foyer to the auditorium is naturally ventilated via concealed low-level automated air intakes and high-level motorised openings integrated within the glazed roof upstand.

Lighting design

A common language was developed across the project, with a single manufacturer commissioned to produce all decorative lighting. Modelling was undertaken to ensure the fittings met functional and emergency lighting requirements while maintaining the architectural vision. Controls and drivers were discreetly integrated and grouped to allow easy maintenance while preserving a clean visual appearance.

Phase 2

Phase 2 included new-build residential accommodation, Dolby Court, the renovation of Millers Yard, and the implementation of the new energy centre. In Phase 2, we carried out the MEP to Stage 3. We provided embodied carbon services for the project and helped steer it towards its BREEAM Excellent target, a particularly complex challenge given the combination of new-build and historic buildings across multiple phases.