Churchill College, Cambridge – Miniature Concrete Model

Model 076_Churchill College, Cambridge – Miniature Concrete Model
Hand-cast in fine concrete. Shaped by memory.

Some campuses feel like their own small cities.
Churchill College in west Cambridge is one of them.

Founded in the late 1950s as a memorial to Sir Winston Churchill, the college was planned from scratch on a 50-acre site off Storey’s Way. Richard Sheppard, Robson & Partners won the major architectural competition with a resolutely modernist scheme of low brick courts, pre-cast concrete bands and long glazed fronts, all set in open lawns and playing fields. Construction ran through the 1960s, creating linked accommodation courts, a vast dining hall, library and chapel that together form one of the key works of British post-war architecture.

The result is a kind of brutalist cloister: brown brick and board-marked concrete in strong horizontal lines, student rooms stepping around landscaped courts, and the famous triple-vaulted roof of Wolfson Hall rising over it all. The central buildings, library and chapel are now Grade II listed, recognised as some of the finest English Brutalist college buildings and a radical counterpoint to the medieval courts of central Cambridge.

I was drawn to Churchill for the way it feels both monumental and humane. Modelling it meant working through the rhythm of the bay windows, the depth of the concrete bands and the way the courts open out into the landscape. I iterated the digital massing to balance the central hall block with the surrounding accommodation wings, then refined the casting so the stepped courts and strong horizontals catch light in a way that feels true to walking across the main lawn.

A small concrete fragment of a campus built for science, ambition and new beginnings.

Features
• Solid cast concrete, individually hand-poured
• Xcm high, Xcm wide, Xcm deep (approx)
• Laser-etched cork base with building name
• Comes gift-boxed for the perfect concrete gift
• Designed, modelled, and finished in the UK

This model is for anyone who has lived, studied or worked at Churchill, or who loves the big, open-ended feel of Cambridge’s modernist colleges. It lives easily on a desk, shelf or studio windowsill and keeps a piece of the courts, the hall and that wide strip of sky within reach each day.

15% off when you order two or more models

EU customers: please order via my Etsy shop due to customs regulations

Building Information

Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Architect: Richard Sheppard, Robson & Partners
Completed: Main campus constructed in the 1960s
Status: Grade II listed central buildings, library, chapel and courts, in active use

Brief Overview:
Churchill College was founded to expand access to science and technology education at Cambridge and to embody a forward-looking post-war spirit. Laid out as a series of linked two and three-storey courts in brown brick with strong horizontal concrete bands and large bay windows, the campus offers on-site accommodation, teaching and social spaces for hundreds of students. Its bold scale, landscape setting and expressive use of concrete and brick have made it a touchstone of English Brutalism and a landmark in the history of British university architecture.

Please note:

ALL EU ORDERS processed through our Etsy Store HERE

My concrete sculptures are individually hand cast in solid concrete. This means that each piece will have distinctive markings and minor blemishes due to air bubbles in the concrete. This is a natural part of the material and will mean that no two pieces are ever exactly the same.

Shipping:
I aim to make and ship your artwork within 30 days. If you require your order by a specific date before this please let me know.

Express shipping options at checkout for additional costs