All work produced by Unit 14
Cover design by Charlie Harris
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture
Copyright 2025
The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
Cambridge, UK -
The project proposes a new Cambridge College dedicated to debate, research and data ethics, rooted in the growing role of artificial intelligence within the educational domain. Following the notorious Cambridge Analytica scandal wherein rogue academics misappropriated social media data for personal profit, access to ‘big data’ was curtailed from the academic realm and thenceforth became siloed within private corporations, depriving the ability for universities to conduct potentially societally beneficial research.
To advocate for the return of the potentially vast programme of data research into the academic domain, the proposal inserts itself into a sequence of historic Cambridge courts, subverting their introverted nature by creating a public thoroughfare through the university grounds wherein the visitor receives glimpses into the vast academic realm above and below.
Cantilevering volumes – housing the traditional functions of research and teaching spaces –are elevated above a sculpted plinth condition, beneath which the primary debate chamber is nestled amongst a vast data storage hall. Meanwhile, the private courtyard retreats to the roof level of the building, forming a private garden with views skimming across the surrounding roof ridges.
The architectural expression is defined by stone and concrete, standing as a monument to a new future against a backdrop of grand Gothic and Edwardian facades. Branching structural ribs articulate the underbelly of the cantilevered forms above, informed by surrounding Gothic tracery whilst also concentrating material where it is most needed.
TIMBER BELL TOWER ARTEFACT STUDY:
Latilla Interaction with Stonework
The supporting timber latillas protrude through the stonework, forming a defining aesthetic architectural feature throughout the Puebloan style
Secondary floor structure sitting upon vigas
Core & Veneer Wall
Sandstone veneer walls with a rubble & mortar core holding outer layers together
Large circular logs embedded into walls, acting as primary suppor for the floors
Core & Veneer Stone Wall
Typical of later styles of Puebloan architectural wall construction, the walls adopt a core & veneer structure with the veneer stonework using a row of larger bricks at regular intervals
T-shaped ceremonial doors separate significant spaces throughout Pueblo Bonito, with doorways supported by unhewn timber lintels.
STUDY:
02: Cribbed Roof Structure
Unhewn logs are stacked in layers, first upon the stone pilasters, and with successive layers supported by the mid point of the timbers below, forming a somewhat domelike structure.
01: Plinth & Pilasters
A proposed connection node between the curving timbers above and the straight timber beneath, transferring the load through the “cribbed” roof structure
01: Cribbing Support Node
A proposed connection node between the curving timbers above and the straight timber beneath, transferring the load through the “cribbed” roof structure A stacking and turning logic based upon the kiva roof. Planar timber layers are separated by support nodes, here shown as milled timber elements which express the stacking and turning logic.
Two turning pieces of timber meet each other on the upper layer, with successive layers of timber lofting down to the lower level, perhaps to meet a supporting column.
A proposed connection node between the curving timbers above and the straight timber beneath, transferring the load through the “cribbed” roof structure
DEVELOPMENT:
MACRO-SCALE: SPATIAL CONFIGURATION
DEVELOPMENT:
FRAGMENT: PLINTH DATUM
An additional node type is created to layer planar timbers vertically, forming a somewhat “spinal” piece.
Speculation on the aesthetic connected between
Ornamental Escarpment
The negative space within the stacks of timber is formed from stone, acting as an elegant and somewhat ornamental escarpment ledge; the suggestion of a plinth condition from which the timber structure rises.
01: Stone Blocks as Timber Supports
Proposing stone blocks which interact with the timber elements; stone blocks sweep outwards to emphasize the supporting of the timber steps.
Horizontal layers of timber rotate into the formation of discrete architectural elements; support for the stair, the steps, the “balusters” and the handrail. A stone escarpment ledge, inspired by the Scottish Brochs, rises up from the ground and is proposed as a symbolic and structural support for the stair; a form of “plinth” condition for the architectural elements above.
Escarpment: Stone + Timber
The Scottish Broch’s usage of stone and timber in the form of an escarpment form the inspiration for this development.
Cloister Court, Cambridge University
The cloister is a historical tradition within Cambridge university buildings, linked to its ecclestiastical past but brought into the present as a defining element of the university’s many courtyards.
Sectional Taxonomy
WALKWAY FRAGMENT DEVELOPMENT:
Walkways and routes are inserted into the section; creating a form of “body” between a plinth and frieze condition. A further taxonomy of sections is developed using a similar language; stacking layers are pulling apart and walkways transfer between layers.
The timber columns meet the stone plinth below, which is articulated into a solid form which can accommodate planters, steps and seating.
Drawing inspiration from the prominence of the cloister throughout Cambridge University’s historical buildings, this fragment explores the potential for the articulation of a “cloister” condition, whereby a covered walkway forms an interstitial space between the courtyard and the building volume.
Nodes Shifted Laterally
Layers are shifted laterally, aligning the nodes in an alternative position, allowing for the strengthening of the nodes and narrowing the armatures inbetween as per diagram 02.
Narrowing Armatures
Armatures between connecting nodes can be narrowed to reflect lower stress in these areas, creating a more elegant, sculptural appearance to the overall form.
DEVELOPMENT:
CAST CONCRETE ARTICULATION
Earlier ideas, originally explored in timber, are returned and drawn upon in stone. The properties of stone obviously present new avenues for the articulation of the basic cribbed form.
Elongating Layers
Successive layers are elongated to suit a desired cross-sectional form. In this cae, it is elongated into that of a catenary curve for optimal distribution of forces throughout the overall form.
DEVELOPMENT:
FRAGMENT: INTERSTITIAL SPACE
Interstitial space can be formed between elongated sectional forms, forming walkways and a hierarchy of spaces. The stone articulation allows for an important dialogue with the earlier articulations in timber, with the stone acting as an intermediary between old (perhaps a historical edifice) and the new.
Cambridge researchers collect Facebook user data for academic research
Cambridge researchers begin publishing research which is obtained by the harvesting of Facebook data via specially developed applications. Users interacting with the applications (often quizes) would agree to share not only their own data, but data of their friends.
Pre-2015, Facebook allowed third party developers to access the profile information of users and their friends.
Lone Cambridge researcher utilizes an identical methodology in a commercial capacity
Cambridge researcher, Alexandr Kogan, develops an app called ‘thisismydigitallife”, which allowed the harvesting of data from 270,000 users who interacted with it. Under Facebook’s academic licensing, this further allowed the collection of data belonging to the friends of those users, totalling some 50 million accounts.
Data is handed to political data firm, Cambridge Analytica
The reappropriation of academic research for commercial purposes by a Psychology researcher at Cambridge University ultimately led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which caused a public scandal when revealed by a whistleblower that social media data had been mass-harvested to help influence electoral outcomes.
Seminal Research Article Published
An important piece of research is published by Cambridge academics used data collected from Facebook about users and their friend network.
Research Meets Commercial Interests
A researcher from within Cambridge’s department pursues the project from a commercial perspective, redeploying the apps and harvesting the data in a commercial capacity.
Whistleblowers Reveal Scandal
An important piece of research is published by Cambridge academics using data collected from Facebook about users and their friend network.
*
Data Silo: big data increasingly siloed within a monopoly of corporations
In the aftermath of declining consumer trust, social media giants react by severely restricting third party access to academics. BIg data becomes increasingly siloed within a few monopoly players.
Declining trust in social media platform’s ability to protect user privacy and data
Social media platforms experience a continuing backlash regarding their handling of user data. Surveys consistently show a declining trust amongst the public regarding social media platform’s ability to protect user privacy and data.
Data Wasteland: Users restrict access to their data
Users increasingly withdraw permissions for data about themselves to be used, leading to a “data wasteland” scenario whereby data is entirely inaccessible to researchers, even for socially beneficial purposes.
BRIEF CONTEXT: ACADEMIC SCANDAL
Following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a new world has emerged whereby access to big data is restricted from the academic world, now increasingly siloed within a handful of corporations. The ethics of research is increasingly called into consideration, whilst the process of this discussion is locked behind the impermeable facades of the universities, ever disconnected from the public whom they supposedly serve.
Access to data is severely curtailed
Academic researcher’s access to personal data from social media giants is severely curtailed.
Data landscape becomes scarce
Academic researcher’s access to personal data from social media giants is severely curtailed.
Access to data is severely curtailed
Socially beneficial research is curtailed as collateral damage. What is the future of big data research within an academic environment?
OF AUTHORITY
Satirical sketches form a part of societal critique which naturally flourished in an intellectual setting which cherishes academic freedom and intellectual discussion, yet occupied the “back alleys” of the university setting from where it could more freely subvert the authority of the institution.
Researchers had access to big data once again?
“The new psychological data revolution needs serious research, and ethical debates about it need to be happening in the public arena – and they’re not. We have a responsibility to say to people working on this in secret in companies and institutions: ‘You’ve got to come and discuss this in an open place’. It’s what universities are for.”
- Professor John Rust, Cambridge University
On data privacy and research transparency
The building is permeated by public access, with key forum and discussion spaces overlooked by the public.
The process of reviewing the ethics of academic research becomes the heart of the building and the subject of public spectacle. Usage of big data in academic research is discussed in a transparent forum overlooked by the public
The process of reviewing the ethics of academic research becomes the heart of the building and the subject of public spectacle. Usage of big data in academic research is discussed in a transparent forum overlooked by the public
A NEW CAMBRIDGE
A new, novel Cambridge College is proposed within the historic courtyards of Trinity and St John’s, breaking through the impenetrable fringe of courtyards and creating a connection between the city centre and the canal and meadows. Grounded in debates regarding academic freedoms and the future of research, a more serious programme is proposed whereby the university advocates the returning of psychometric research into the open domain of the university. Simultaneously, the idea of satire as a powerful form of social critique is renewed, weaving spaces of performance into the interstices.
SITE:
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: LAND OWNERSHIP
Cambridge University is the dominating force throughout the city, owning vast swathes of land and contributing an estimated £30 billion to the UK’s economy.
MYTHS & LEGENDS SOLD ALONG THE RIVER
Punting is a major attraction on the River Cam; the chauffeurs are typically Cambridge University students who notoriously compete with eachother to tell the most outrageous myths & legends about the university, without being caught out.
IMPENETRABLE COURTYARDS
Cambridge University is the dominating force throughout the city, owning vast swathes of land and contributing an estimated £30 billion to the UK’s economy.
The historic central campus of Cambridge University forms an impenetrable fringe of monastic courtyards along the edge of the city center, acting as a barrier to the River Cam and the lush green meadows beyond. Glimpses through are granted but public access is restricted.
Elevation Fragments of various courtyard-facing facades
1. Dining Hall 2. Chapel 3. Ground Level: Administrative Above: Accomodation 4. Music Room
Gatehouse
SITE:
The historic central campus of Cambridge University forms an impenetrable fringe of monastic courtyards along the edge of the city center, acting as a barrier to the River Cam and the lush green meadows beyond. Glimpses through are granted but public access is restricted.
A fragment of the historic centre of Cambridge, with the university courtyards dominating the eastern border of the river.
The act of data storage, typically hidden away yet so pivotal within this programme, is placed upon partial display for visitors to encounter.
An initial ‘radical’ exploration considers drawing the existing courtyard facades into the new courtyard intervention, whilst testing what kind of vistas might be framed by the entrance alleyway. The manipulation of the groundplane is explored as a means to partially conceal the data hall.
The passageway through the coutyard frames the view ahead, with elements of the courtyard framed with the new ‘atrium’ space in the foreground.
CONCEPT ITERATION
CONCEPT ITERATION 02
Sectional Studies
COURT OF ETHICS ELEVATION
A two-tiered debate chamber provides access to the public on the upper gallery level
CONCEPT ITERATION
AUDITORIUM FRAGMENT
Spaces for larger programmes are provided at an upper level, for instance in this case, a lecture theatre.
CANTILEVER FORM 01
Four primary columns lean outwards, held in tension by tensile members spanning across the structure and supporting the floor plates within. This creates an aesthetic of ‘leaning’ upon the surrounding courtyard facades, which is undesirable.
CANTILEVER FORM 02
Floorplates cantilever outwards in small steps with each successive layer. A central core provides stability and anchorage for overhanging floor plates. This form is considered more compatible with the historic courtyard surroundings.
The historic central campus of Cambridge University forms an impenetrable fringe of monastic courtyards along the edge of the city center, acting as a barrier to the River Cam and the lush green meadows beyond. Glimpses through are granted but public access is restricted.
The series of private university courtyards connect the city centre with the green meadows on the western side of city. The proposal renders them as a new public pedestrian route, wherein parts of the programme are revealed to the visitor on their journey through the courtyards.
The existing courtyard surface is retained in some respects; it is sculpted and shaped to maintain existing routes through and across, whilst exposing the data hall and the chamber of ethics.
Cantilevered massing volumes are elevated above the sculpted ground plane, maintaining existing sightlines below and through the structure. An interstitial space is formed between this sculpted groundplane, the cantilevered massing and the surrounding courtyard facades.
Central atriums pierce through center of massings, filtering light down into the lower levels and the courtyard below. This atrium also acts as a reinforcing core, supporting the cantilevered floor plates.
The development of the massing derives from the interaction with the existing courtyard ground plane and the surrounding courtyard facades. A key concept involves the maintaining of existing sightlines and circulatory routes across the courtyard; as a result, the concept can loosely be divided into a sculpted courtyard ground plane with its below ground programme, and the above-ground cantilevered form which sits lightly upon the courtyard surface.
False Windows are extracted to form a walkway between the hammerhead truss ‘attic’ space above the great hall.
An existing gallery space overlooking the great hall could form a connection, with the pointed windows extracted to form a walkway.
The upper levels of the Great Hall, positioned between the two courtyards, contains a series of false windows to maintain continuity with the adjacent facades. A connection between the two massing volumes is proposed through the ‘attic’ space bound by the hammerhead roof truss, acting as both a walkway and a viewing gallery down into the old fabric below.
The cantilevered form, rendered in concrete to achieve a monumental form which can stand symbolically amongst the historical brick & stone facades, creates an interstitial space wherein much of the surrounding courtyard facades are visible from the ‘forecourt’ of the proposal. The tight coutyard passageway opens up to this expansive forecourt, with a sculpted landscape allowing the revealing of parts of the subterranean programme whilst increasing the grandeur of the space.
The
forms an
fringe
Expressed Structural Hierarchy
Pei’s East-West Centre expresses a large cantilever with monumenetal columns and transfer beams supporting smaller beams above.
TYPE A: SINGLE SPAN
A simple span component supported at each end.
TYPE C: TWO-WAY SPAN (CORNER)
A floor slab supported at one corner (top left) and the two adjacent edges. Principle stress lines fan out accordingly from the point.
TYPE B: CANTILEVER
Overhanging slab condition
TYPE C: OVERHANG
Louvre component projecting from the perimeter of the building
SITE:
CONCRETE SOFFIT ARTICULATION
Gothic tracery from the surrounding facades is re-interpreted as a structural and articulative logic within the exposed concrete floor slabs. Beams sub-divide closer to points of support, concentrating the structural slab where it is most needed. The result is a somewhat ornamental and horizontal articulation to the interstitial space, a subversion of the theological foundations in which the vertical articulation of gothic architecture aspired to.
GOTHIC TRACERY: SUB-DIVISION
Contextual Fragments: Gothic tracery from the surrounding buildings is re-interpreted as a structural and articulation logic of the beam & floor profile
ARTICULATED UNDERBELLY
The articulation of the underbelly, derived from gothic tracery and acting as a subversion of the vertical language of gothic architecture, also has numerous benefits for the architecture.
Concrete Soffit
The exposed concrete surface acts as a fabric energy storage, capturing heat throughout the day which is then purged at night.
Principle Stress Lines: Material Reduction
The concentration of concrete where it is most needed (along post-tensioning tendons) allows for the optimization of concrete usage.
Precast component: typical GRP mould
SITE:
The Court of Ethics is nestled into the basement of the inner courtyard, symbollically located at the base of the atrium whereby it is encountered along the pedestrian route passing through the courtyards.
The underside of the concrete floor slabs remain exposed. Internally, they act contribute to the environmental strategy, acting as heat sink during the day.
The floorplates above are transferred via transfer beams into the lower levels of the building
Horizontal language of articulated beams is swept into the facade, forming a continuous architectural language between beams and columns and fenestration.
The articulation of the building’s ‘underbelly’, in the form of gothic tracery-inspired ribbed beams, informs the treatment of the facade. Columns are articulated on the facade as a continuation of the major beams that run across the floor, forming voids for windows between. The transfer beams extend along the cantilever as a stepped ‘book end’ condition.
Standard transfer beam, articulated to meld the horizontal tracery-inspired beams into the vertical fenestration
A transfer beam projects outwards, acting as a support for the cantilevered floorplates above
The language of articulated beams and columns is proliferated to create a stepped cantilever, allowing the existing facades of the courtyard to be drawn into the experience of the courtyard.
Concealed lighting in the window head illuminates the overhanging concrete soffit, reflecting light down upon the courtyard.
The articulation of the building’s ‘underbelly’, in the form of gothic tracery-inspired ribbed beams, informs the treatment of the facade. Columns are articulated on the facade as a continuation of the major beams that run across the floor, forming voids for windows between. The transfer beams extend along the cantilever as a stepped ‘book end’ condition.
Library / Teaching Space
Research Lab
The articulation of the building’s ‘underbelly’, in the form of gothic tracery-inspired ribbed beams, informs the treatment of the facade. Columns are articulated on the facade as a continuation of the major beams that run across the floor, forming voids for windows between. The transfer beams extend along the cantilever as a stepped ‘book end’ condition.
CIRCULATION: ELEVATOR FRAGMENT
CIRCULATION: STAIR FRAGMENT
Fragment: Roof Garden
The central core provides acces to an augmented form of the original courtyard. Lush gardens fill the reinstated courtyard quadrants, offering a place for researchers and visitors to relax
Precast Assemblage: Infralight Concrete Components
Infralight precast concrete components are assembled together to form a monolithic system that acts both structurally and as an exposed finish where necessary.
ROOF LEVEL: COURTYARD REINSTATEMENT
The cloister, a typical feature of Cambridge University’s introverted courtyards, is reinterpreted at the roof level as an outward-facing seating area, providing an area for solace with sightlines which skim above the existing coutyards and across the city of Cambridge.
ROOF LEVEL: COURTYARD REINSTATEMENT
Reference:
MACRO-SCALE: CONTEXTUAL RELATIONSHIP
The courtyard augments the logic of the original circulatory routes to create an experience compatible with the new programme
MICRO-SCALE: CONTEXTUAL RELATIONSHIP
PRIVATE ROUTE | FINE GRAIN TILE
SITE:
PUBLIC ROUTE | LONG FORMAT TILE
HIGHLIGHT | SQUARE FORMAT TILE
Data Hall Visibility
Undulations in the courtyard surface reveal the vast data hall below, a constant reminder of the mission of the institution to those who pass through the courtyard.
Precast Assemblage: Monumental Columns
Monumental columns lift support the cantilevering research institution above. Preformed sockets in the concrete components form an interlocking system which is expressed in the visual language of the proposal.
The cantilevered massing is elevated above the sculpted ground plane, supported symbolically upon a handful of large monumental concrete columns. Sightlines pass through and beneath the structure, maintaining visual continuity across the courtyard, whilst the stepped cantilever form allow the historical facades to remain ever-present from within the courtyard, forming an ‘interstitial space’ between the courtyard and the new proposal.
SITE:
The court of ethics is accessed externally to the main building, bringing researchers through the interstitial space of the courtyard in order to pass between debate chamber and the private research functions above.
Court of Ethics: Entrance View 01
A circulatory route at the edge of the courtyard provides a stair which sinks beneath the courtyard with the characteristic articulated soffits overhead.
Court of Ethics: Entrance View 02
The court of ethics is accessed externally to the main building, connecting the private functions of research with the more public courtyard.
INTERSTITIAL CIRCULATION
Researchers exit the private realm of the research institution and pass through the interstitial space of the now-public courtyard to access the court of ethics.
Court of Ethics: Internal View
Timber strips form a glove-like lining which encapsulates the court of ethics, adding warmth and acoustic dampening.
COURT OF ETHICS: COURTYARD RELATIONSHIP
CUTAWAY
INNER COURT SIDE VIEW
TYPICAL UPPER LEVEL FLOOR PLAN
All work produced by Unit 14
Cover design by Charlie Harrishttps://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture
Copyright 2025 The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
At the center of Unit 14’s academic exploration lies Buckminster Fuller’s ideal of the ‘The Comprehensive Designer’, a master-builder that follows Renaissance principles and a holistic approach. Fuller referred to this ideal of the designer as somebody who is capable of comprehending the ‘integrateable significance’ of specialised findings and is able to realise and coordinate the commonwealth potentials of these discoveries while not disappearing into a career of expertise. Like Fuller, we are opportunists in search of new ideas and their benefits via architectural synthesis. As such Unit 14 is a test bed for exploration and innovation, examining the role of the architect in an environment of continuous change. We are in search of the new, leveraging technologies, workflows and modes of production seen in disciplines outside our own. We test ideas systematically by means of digital as well as physical drawings, models and prototypes. Our work evolves around technological speculation with a research-driven core, generating momentum through astute synthesis. Our propositions are ultimately made through the design of buildings and through the in-depth consideration of structural formation and tectonic. This, coupled with a strong research ethos, will generate new and unprecedented, one day viable and spectacular proposals. They will be beautiful because of their intelligence - extraordinary findings and the artful integration of those into architecture.
The focus of this year’s work evolves around the intrinsic chance and professional desire for creative and systematic investigation. The explorative and intellectual process of iterative learning through informed experiment, catalysed by potent discoveries and ultimately seeking an architectural application. An intensely investigative approach enables the architect’s fundamental agency and core competency of the profession to anticipate the future as the result of the highest degree of synthesis of the observed underlying principles underpinned by strong research. Constructional logic, spatial innovation, typological organisation, environmental and structural performance are all negotiated in a highly iterative process driven by intense architectural investigation. Through the deep understanding of principles, we will generate highly developed architectural systems of unencountered intensity where spatial organisation arises as a result of sets of mutual interactions. Observation as well as re-examination of past and contemporary civilisational developments will enable us to project near future scenarios and position ourselves as avant-garde in the process of designing a comprehensive vision for the forthcoming. The projects will take shape as research based, imaginative architectural visions driven by speculation.
Thanks to: ARUP, DKFS.io, Foster+Partners, KLASKA LTD, Populous, RSH+P, Seth Stein Architects, ZHA, knippershelbig
