CHA were shortlisted to design a new Porters’ Lodge and entrance for Homerton College, Cambridge. Homerton is the newest Cambridge college and the only one to be located on the south side of the city.

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The new Porters’ Lodge provides a distinctive entrance that draws attention to the college’s presence on a wide suburban street and offers a strong sense of arrival for all. The scale of the facade addresses both the context of Hills Road and the history of Cambridge colleges more generally, providing a celebratory and contemporary gateway for Homerton.

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The organisation of the new building directs visitors, staff and students into the heart of the campus. A number of new external spaces are also created: a south-facing court, a colonnaded route and a gathering space at the rear. The location of the new lodge allows for the formation of a new court between it and the existing Mary Allan building which houses the college library. The covered colonnade forms a new sheltered route connecting staff, students and visitors to this court and to the campus grounds beyond. At the rear of the new lodge, a small but important public space is formed which picks up a number of routes across the college campus. A smaller version of the lodge’s entrance façade forms a frontage to this gathering space and includes a short colonnade that connects the new court with the rest of the campus.

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CHA worked closely with HEW Structural Engineers and Max Fordham Associates to integrate a zero-carbon strategy throughout the proposal. The design proposes using locally sourced materials including Chipsham stone from Lincolnshire for the front and rear elevations as well as recycled bricks for the side elevations and recycled slate for the roof. The building proposes to employ both photo voltaics and a ground source heat pump to produce renewable energy sources and will be built to PassivHaus standards.