Cambridgeshire, Cambridge, Queen's College

Building Notes

Sir Basil Spence and Partners designed the Erasmus building which was built between 1959 and 1960 to serve as accommodation for Queen's College in Cambridge. The project cost was £100,000.

The building is sited by the river Cam, next to King's College. It consists of three floors raised on columns and arched piers with a flat roof terrace. The walls and piers are constructed of brick while the parapet and south west wall are faced with Cotswold stone. Fenestration comprised long vertical glazed bands on the south elevation and irregularly sized and spaced windows at the front. There is accommodation for up to 43 students, each provided with a wash-basin and wall unit with electric fire 'for making toast', along with what was considered at the time to be an excess of bathrooms and clothes drying facilities to accommodate students from the older buildings adjoining the College.

The Erasmus building was the first college building in this part of Cambridge to be designed in the modernist tradition.

Archive Details

The drawings held in the Sir Basil Spence Archive illustrate the changes that took place in the building's appearance during the design process, principally its reduction from four to three storeys. The manuscript material also shows that the style, as well as siting, of the building generated some controversy because of its placement in the historic heart of Queen's College. Despite the resistance, the scheme was strongly endorsed by both the Board of Governors and the County Planning Office, and was opened by the Queen Mother.

The Archive shows that the practice was sensitive to the surrounding environment and took inspiration from the College's existing buildings. This is reflected in the final design of the building. For example, the roof projections relate to the nearby Cloister Court's irregular skyline of chimneys and turrets.

Archive Summary

The Sir Basil Spence Archive holds three manuscript folders, 55 drawings and 63 photographs relating to the Erasmus building. The manuscript material includes written descriptions of the design and functionality of the building, and a journal dating from 1958 with a detailed article on the project. The drawings include a range of sketch perspectives and elevations that demonstrate the evolution of the design. The photographic material includes completion views.

This text was written as one of the outputs of the Sir Basil Spence Archive Project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, 2005-08.

English Heritage pastscape reference TL45NW 49