Mercers Row
View all projectsTransforming the site of a vacant and derelict paper recycling facility on the edge of central Cambridge, this will be the city's first sustainable mid-tech hub, creating 6,000 sqm of flexible workspace designed for research, product development and manufacturing. Two distinctive sawtooth-roofed buildings frame a landscaped pocket park, offering flexible, efficient space for production and innovation. A future phase will extend the campus meeting rising local demand. Rooted in robust industrial character yet refined in detail, the scheme, having now received planning consent, enhances its surroundings while contributing to Cambridge’s reputation as a global centre for science and technology.
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Arrival square with a newly created pocket park anchors the scheme and connects the site to neighbouring Stourbridge Common.
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Context Plan
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Orientation responsive sawtooth roof form works perfectly for natural light and maximum PV efficiency, enabling the scheme to be highly efficient in its energy use.
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Approach along Mercers Row showing the detailed planning scheme to the right and the outline application to the left with the pocket park and new public realm beyond.
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A ‘kit of parts’ allows for maximum internal flexibility; a simple fenestration coupled with folding expanded metal mesh brise soleil screens and projecting window reveals.
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The northern façade, a series of distinct volumes with unifying design principles; an asymmetrical flick acknowledges the main entrance locations.
- City
- Cambridge
- Use
- Science and health
- Client
- Wrenbridge (FRELD Mercers Row) LLP and Cambridge City Council
- Status
- Current
- Size
- 6,261 sqm GEA
- Collaborators
Structure: Burrows Graham
Services: Cudd Bentley
Landscape: Stantec
Acoustics and Air Quality: Sweco
Cost: KAM
Sustainability: Cudd Bentley/Eight Versa
Fire: Jensen Hughes
Heritage: Stantec
Arboriculture Consultant: Haydens
Ecology and BREEAM consultant: Eight Versa
Highway and Transportation: KMC