MICA\u2019s vision is structured around a new pedestrian route, connecting the site with the surrounding area and \u2018strengthening an important ecological corridor across West Cambridge\u2019 by creating a \u2018rich biodiverse landscape\u2019 to offer outdoor social spaces.<\/p>\n
The 12,650m\u00b2 proposal, the architects claim, prioritises the reuse of existing materials while aiming to deliver energy-efficient buildings with low embodied carbon levels.<\/p>\n
The new site is currently occupied by student housing that first opened in 1972 and was designed by David Wyn Roberts, who worked on more university buildings for Cambridge University than any other architect. A second phase was added in 1990 and a third phase was planned to expand the development further, but this was never built.<\/p>\n
The officers report recommended the application for approval, citing the provision of \u2018much-needed student accommodation\u2019 in the area and arguing that the development would result in an enhancement to the site, compared with the existing buildings.<\/p>\n
Objections were heard, however, during the planning committee meeting. Concerns were raised over the sustainability of the proposals, especially the decision to use a concrete frame.<\/p>\n
Green councillor Kathryn Fisher pointed to local policy which states that \u2018all development should take the available opportunities to integrate the principles of sustainable design and construction into proposals\u2019.<\/p>\n
However, the delivery manager concluded that the policy did not impose a strict requirement and so the developer had no obligation to use particular materials.<\/p>\n
Stuart Cade, director at MICA, said: \u2018Wolfson Court represents an exciting opportunity to place landscape, wellbeing and sustainability at the heart of student living.<\/p>\n
\u2018By creating a richly landscaped and connected campus environment, the design supports both collegiate life and individual wellbeing while delivering a significant enhancement to the College facilities.\u2019<\/p>\n
All but one of the accommodation blocks will contain flats of six to eight bedrooms with shared living facilities and social spaces, while the final building will offer one-bedroom apartments.<\/p>\n
The design of the new buildings has taken inspiration from the surrounding context of the conservation area, and aims to \u2018set a benchmark for sustainable collegiate living\u2019.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/777_Wolfson-Court_St-Johns_MICA-planning-imagery2-scaled.webp\")
<\/p>\n
MICA Architects consented Wolfson Court redevelopment<\/p>\n
Source: MICA Architects<\/p>\n
Project data<\/p>\n
Location<\/strong> Cambridge
Local authority<\/strong> Cambridge City Council
Type of project<\/strong> Education\/private\/student accommodation
Commissioned<\/strong> 1 July 2024
Planning consented<\/strong> 29 July 2026
Client<\/strong> St John\u2019s College Cambridge
Architect<\/strong> MICA
Landscape architect<\/strong> Jeremy Rye
Planning consultant<\/strong> Shrimplin Planning
Structural engineer<\/strong> Smith and Wallwork
M&E consultant<\/strong> Skelly and Couch
QS<\/strong> CB3 Consulting
Principal designer (CDM)<\/strong> BCAL
Principal designer (BSA)<\/strong> MICA
Lighting consultant<\/strong> To be confirmed
Main contractor<\/strong> To be confirmed
Project manager<\/strong> Ridge
Fire consultant<\/strong> Marshall Fire
Acoustic consultant<\/strong> Mayer Brown
Transportation consultant<\/strong> Mayer Brown
Tender date<\/strong> To be confirmed
Start on site<\/strong> To be confirmed
Completion<\/strong> To be confirmed
Gross internal floor area<\/strong> Approximately 12,650m\u00b2
Form of contract\/procurement<\/strong> To be confirmed
Annual CO2 emissions<\/strong> 2.56 tonnes CO2\/year
Construction cost<\/strong> Confidential
Planning application reference<\/strong> 25\/04832\/FUL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sitting in the West Cambridge Conservation Area, the project will replace existing student halls at Wolfson Court off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,459,366,18,117,19,17,269752,21680],"class_list":["post-638025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-cambridge","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mica-architects","tag-student-accommodation"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117097496287641753","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}