THE ASH COURT DEVELOPMENT Girton College
An aerial view of the proposed new wing at Ash Court
A new wing at Ash Court The College has ambitious plans to enhance and extend its educational excellence by building on the Girton site. The proposal is to build a state-of-theart, sustainable building on Ash Court, creating 50 new ensuite undergraduate rooms and thereby having the additional benefit of greatly reducing the cost of maintenance and cleaning of College houses. Undergraduates currently housed at Wolfson Court, the College’s site in West Cambridge, would relocate to the new wing at Ash Court. This would enable the transformation of Wolfson Court into a world-class centre for graduates, ideally placed at the heart of the University as it expands to the West and Northwest of Cambridge.
Above: the existing bar corridor and courtyard. Right: an artist’s impression of the new courtyard.
A rationalisation of current accommodation facilities The College houses 350 undergraduates in the iconic Alfred Waterhouse buildings of its main site located off Huntingdon Road, and in college-owned houses, adapted from family homes around Cambridge. Around 90 undergraduate and 45 graduate students are housed at Wolfson Court, a complex funded by the Wolfson Foundation in 1969, the College’s centenary year. The graduates are mostly housed in an annex to Wolfson Court, which was completed in 1994, and in shared graduate housing.
The Ash Court scheme, to be located at the northern end of the College’s existing buildings, will open up a new high-end conference market for the College, as it will provide ensuite rooms, thereby increasing conference revenue in the long vacation.
As Girton relies to an increasing extent on its endowment income to fund educational costs such as teaching, and costs associated with the maintenance of its historic buildings, it is seeking to rationalise the accommodation offered to students. Selling some student houses, which are costly to maintain, will partly fund these developments. The new development will save the College over £100,000 per year in its operating budget.
The scheme also underlines Girton’s historic commitment to providing excellent education set within facilities that offer a unique space for thought within Cambridge University.
The new wing proposed on the main site, which will complete Ash Court, has been costed by Gleeds construction consultants at £10 million, including all fees and VAT. So far Girton has funded £2.5 million of the total £10 million required to complete the Ash Court complex.
The vision for the future The architects for the new wing are Allies & Morrison, our longstanding award-winning partners, whose design for the Duke Library and Archive development won a string of prizes in 2005, including a Royal Institute of British Architecture (RIBA) award. The Ash Court design is red brick and complements the existing Waterhouse buildings, creating a pleasing feature of vertical roof-height windows which face the gardens. The design will meet PassivHaus standards, and includes electricity-generating photovoltaic (PV) cells on the roof to minimise energy use. The new wing will extend the Cloister Corridor to add an extra set of student rooms, which will face the gardens and pond. There will be 50 ensuite student rooms in this development. Ash Court’s parking area will be re-landscaped and a new courtyard amenity will be created between the bar corridor and the squash court. Most car parking will be removed from Ash Court, enhancing the amenity value of the space for the College's community and visitors alike. The new building will also include a colonnade which will have a gym and ergo room adjoining on its ground floor. The proposals also include the refurbishment and external rebuilding of the College’s Grade II listed swimming pool, which is necessary for structural reasons. The overall effect will be to create a great new leisure facility in this area for students, Fellows, staff and visitors to Girton, unrivalled by any other college.
The scheme also underlines Girton’s historic commitment to providing excellent education set in facilities offering unique space for thought within Cambridge University.
Project costs and needs To make this vision for the College’s future a reality, we are currently fundraising for the £7.5 million we need to complete this adventurous addition to the College’s accommodation and facilities. There are a number of opportunities to name elements of the scheme, which are listed below Element
Approximate donation required
Naming the New Wing
£5 Million
Naming the Courtyard Development
£1 Million
Naming the Colonnade
£750,000
Naming the Leisure Centre
£750,000
Naming the redeveloped Pool
£350,000
Naming the changing facility
£200,000
Naming the new Gym/Ergo Room
£100,000
Naming the Free Weights Room
£100,000
Naming the redeveloped Squash Court
£50,000
Naming a student room (each)
£30,000
In addition, all donors to the scheme giving more than £50,000, or making a substantial legacy pledge will be recognised with a donor plaque in the development. For major donors of £500,000 and above there is also further recognition in the form of closer association with the College. It is possible to donate tax-efficiently to Girton through numerous methods, including share donations, and from the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and selected European countries.
To add your support: If you wish to add your support, please complete the form enclosed or contact the development office for more details. www.girton.cam.ac.uk/development
Girton College Cambridge
Development Office Girton College FREEPOST ANG6880 Cambridge CB3 0YE +44 (0)1223 766672/338901 development@girton.cam.ac.uk www.girton.cam.ac.uk