Wong Avery Music Gallery - Trinity Hall College, Cambridge

Planning for this project began in 2016 which was a collaboration between Historic England and Cambridge City Planning Office. The aim was to create a state of the art music rehearsal facility in the middle of Avery Court which is part of the Central Site of Trinity Hall College, Cambridge. Construction began in February 2019 and due to the impacts of the pandemic, the project was completed in August 2021.

There were challenges due to the location of the courtyard as it is surrounded by Grade I and Grade II listed buildings, there is also only a small pedestrian walkway less than 2 metres in width in which to move goods and materials in and out of the construction site. 

The architect had considered the carbon footprint of the project and decided to use natural stone from the UK which is durable and has a lower embodied carbon than alternative materials. Jordans Basebed was used for the frame and Grove Whitbed for the upper walls. By using a UK source closer to the project location, the environmental impacts of transportation were significantly reduced.

Awards

Winner: RIBA National Award 2024 & RIBA East of England Award 2024
Greater Cambridge Design & Construction Awards: Highly Commended, Best New Building over £2m & Craftsmanship 2022
Natural Stone Awards: Commended, Interiors 2022

Ground floor interior features consist of evenly spaced load-bearing stone columns measuring 405mmx75mm.

The interconnected ceiling lattice is precisely cut with very tight tolerances. Each section of the stone lattice is suspended on two bolts, extending from the prefabricated steelwork forming the roof above.
Another intriguing aspect that demanded thorough examination and intricate resolution from Harrison Goldman was the installation of thin stone fins, descending perpendicular.