Our College, Our Future: Buildings & Spaces Projects (December 2019)

St Catharine's College University of Cambridge

OUR COLLEGE, OUR FUTURE

Your gift will lay foundations for future generations

The importance of place should not be underestimated. For our students, St Catharine’s is home away from home. They live together, learn together and support each other. Here, friendships are formed that last a lifetime.

Attractive, functional and enjoyable buildings invigorate and inspire. They encourage talented people to choose St Catharine’s. They encourage alumni to return and remain connected to their College.

The College’s strategic review identified the need for a selective, planned renewal of our buildings. This will support College operations, ensuring our community enjoys a high standard of living and access to exceptional facilities.

Thousands of Members value the special sense of community for which St Catharine’s has long been known. I hope you will support these initiatives, for the benefit of those here now and those who will follow in their – and your – footsteps.

Professor Sir Mark Welland Master

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Revitalising central spaces The Hall and surrounding spaces sit at the heart of College life. Here, students, Fellows and alumni come together, creating and strengthening our community. When constructed in the 1960s, these shared spaces helped transform the College into the flourishing institution it is today.

Looking to the future, the Hall and kitchens cannot properly support the requirements of St Catharine’s in the 21st century. They are inadequately sized and poorly configured for modern needs. There is no step-free access from Main Court to the Hall, nor from ground level up to the Sherlock Library. The Hall suffers from poor acoustics and a dated design.

“Our buildings play an important role in creating an atmosphere conducive to learning and fostering a strong sense of community. We will ensure that our facilities provide these benefits for many years to come. The central areas of College life are absolutely key to the St Catharine’s experience.”

Professor Peter Tyler (1983), Fellow and President 2016-19

THE FUTURE

The planned revitalisation of central spaces, from Chapel Court and the Hall, up to the Sherlock Library.

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We have a rare opportunity to remake the social centre of St Catharine’s, so that it better serves the needs of everyone, and better reflects both our storied history and ambitious future. The result will be a stylish, streamlined space for all.

The remodelled Hall, echoing the design of the design of the old Hall (now SCR).

HALL

The Hall will be resized and reshaped, to better suit the needs of the modern College. It will also be reimagined, with a design that echoes that of the ‘old’ Hall (now SCR). The result will be a Hall that provides a more memorable and elevating dining experience, while meeting all functional needs.

AT R I U M

A new atrium will be built in Chapel Court. It will provide a light-filled and uplifting means of connection between Hall, Chapel, McGrath Centre and Sherlock Library.

N E W P R I VAT E D I N I N G R O O M

An elegant new private dining room, located on the ground floor of the remodeled central spaces, will be named in memory of Dr Sydney Smith, alumnus and Fellow of St Catharine’s between 1939 and 1988.

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A new atrium in Chapel Court will add an uplifting space that can be used throughout the year, while also improving access and circulation.

S H E R L O C K L I B R A R Y & R A R E B O O K C O N S E R VAT I O N

The Sherlock Library is a beautiful, contemplative space meant for everyday use. A new staircase and lift will improve accessibility for all users. A secure, climate-controlled environment suitable for rare book conservation is to be created as part of the development.

K I T C H E N S & S E R V I C E S PA C E S

Enlarged and reconfigured catering facilities will improve food production. Discreet movement and convenient serveries are seamlessly integrated so that the Hall, SCR, Armitage Room, OCR and new dining room are all fully accessible and fully serviceable.

The benefits that will flow to students, Fellows, alumni and visitors can be realised only with your support. We want to start construction in the summer of 2020 and complete work for Michaelmas Term 2021.

The cost of the project is £12 million.

GIFT MATCHING

In addition to a lead gift of £4 million, Christina (2016) and Peter Dawson (1974) have established a matched funding challenge to encourage you to support this vital project. Until December 2021, all gifts received for this project will be matched on a pound-for-pound basis, up to a maximum of £4 million in donations. This could provide an additional £8 million for the project.

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St Chad’s: new accommodation & communal areas The College needs more quality rooms and shared spaces for its students. Investment in new and improved accommodation is important if we are to continue to attract the best students and properly support them.

Our plans for St Chad’s will do just this and, in doing so, will strengthen our community.

“Reminiscing about my ‘year out’ at St Chad’s brings an instant smile. It was freedom and security in equal measures, with many life skills learnt along the way and, most importantly, three life-long friendships forged.”

Tina Cragg-Hine (née Patel) (1989)

The plans for St Chad’s, with two new houses, versatile communal rooms in Old House and landscaped gardens.

Quality: The standard of 24 new bedrooms, housed in two new buildings, will equal that of our best existing student accommodation.

Affordability: Living costs should be affordable for all students.

This project helps us meet this need. Offering high-quality accommodation to conference customers out of term time enables us to keep student rents low during term time.

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Certainty: At present, the College relies on the private rental market for some student accommodation. Building on our own land allows us to control investment and costs, for the long-term benefit of our students.

Community: A new multi-use communal space, benefiting all residents of St Chad’s, will serve as a hub for student interaction and collaboration. This will replace the existing Octagon, the age and design of which means it is impractical and little used today.

Flexibility: The addition of new rooms means that we can be more responsive to our future accommodation needs. Together with the new shared space, these rooms will allow us to generate more hospitality revenue out of term time, for reinvestment in a broad range of student services.

Sustainability: Wherever we can, we will make use of existing materials. For example, the new houses will make use of timber beams from the Octagon.

The two new buildings housing 24 student rooms between them. Old House can be seen beyond, and the existing second year accommodation to the right.

We want to undertake this vital project by 2023. Only with your support can this be done. Whatever donation you can make, it really will help us to provide an even better home for our students.

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How you can help These plans, which will transform students’ experience of St Catharine’s, need your support. Whatever donation you can make will lay strong foundations for future generations.

Every gift counts: In 2018-19, donors who individually gave up to £500 together donated more than £204,000.

Gift Aid: The Gift Aid scheme increases the value of donations from UK taxpayers by 25% at no extra cost to the donor. Tax relief is also available for higher and additional rate taxpayers.

Recognition: All donors are invited to our annual benefactors’ garden party. Those who wish to have their support recognised publicly are included in our annual list of donors.

Mary Ramsden Circle: Named in honour of a leading benefactor from the College’s past, the Mary Ramsden Circle recognises donors who take a leading role in the future success of St Catharine’s.

Membership is available to those who support the College with donations of £1,000+ a year. Commitments can be in the form of monthly, quarterly or annual gifts.

You can donate online at www.caths.cam.ac.uk/donate

St Catharine’s College, Cambridge CB2 1RL www.caths.cam.ac.uk | giving@caths.cam.ac.uk | 01223 338337 Registered charity no. 1137463

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