Test

Certified B Corporation — Adaptive Retrofit — Humanising Infrastructure — Making better places — Architecture — Public Realm — Spatial Strategy — Creative Reuse — Urban Transformation — Decarbonisation —

Northern Fringe East— Cambridge

Client(s)

Grosvenor; U+I / Town

Cambridge is a city experiencing unprecedented growth – great change is underway – but what is the vision for the shape of the city in the next half-century? What is the spatial strategy underpinning this vision?

Cambridge performs on a global stage of cities at the heart of a strong ‘knowledge economy’. Its continuing role in this urban club, and its economic resilience, depend on the quality of the city’s environment: an ambitious sense of the sort of place it wants to be. Our research has exposed threats in the quality of the city’s working environments and its supporting infrastructure.

Existing view along Cowley Road

The site is currently dominated by the city’s main sewage works

The largest area of the city yet to be fully developed is the North East quadrant, an area of 250 hectares occupied by the city’s sewage works, under-used rail sidings and the world-renowned Science Park. A new railway station has been established – Cambridge North – providing a fast link to London. Hard won, this station will provide critical new infrastructure to the north of the city, in an area which is the last opportunity for major urban growth that achieves net-zero-carbon and creates a connected and walkable neighbourhood.

Since 2012, 5th Studio have been promoting a strategy which radically urbanises this topography, welding together a territory in a way that overcomes the encircling infrastructure, forging good connectivity with both north Cambridge and the landscapes along the River Cam. As part of this work, the City Council were successful in winning a £220m bid to central government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund to relocate the city’s sewage works.

Having instigated the project and worked with a number of parties, including Grosvenor, to realise this ambitious vision, 5th Studio is currently advising the landowners’ chosen development partner, U+I and Town.