Jesus College

The West Court project presented an opportunity to incorporate old buildings into a new heart for the college within its historic footprint. It was delivered in sequential parts over 18 months, with the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed building completed first, followed by the new café pavilion and basement bar, and finally the remodelled 1970s Rank Building and a new entrance building.


As stipulated by the planners, the café stands distinct from the old building as a pavilion, separated by a corridor of glass, thus maintaining the integrity of the old façade. There are a number of clever touches: the timber columns thicken out in the centre to express the natural stress on the structure; the acoustic ceiling allows for quiet conversations; and the barrel-vaulted ceiling of the cellar bar, which opens out on to a sunken courtyard facing away from the part of the Webb buildings still occupied by the (teetotal) Wesleyan community.

The café is one component of a three-phase project, with the current first phase also comprising common rooms, teaching and study spaces, a lecture hall, and 24 hotel-standard rooms plus three serviced apartments for visiting scholars. Later phases will yield a performing arts venue, gallery and archive.

Designs had to respond to the variety of building stock and site conditions, and the wide range of construction types from renovation to new-build. In terms of detailing, there was limited opportunity for repetition. Instead the various elements were unified through a consistent palette of high-quality traditional materials including oak, stone, brick and quarry tiles. Untreated oak glulam framing around glazing was given a chamfered profile to echo the existing stone window surrounds.