Queen’s College, Owlstone Croft

Client: Morgan Sindall Group
Contract Value: Circa £2.0m
Duration: 14 months

Project Description

Located within a sensitive residential area of Cambridge, the Owlstone Croft development for Queens’ College was a high-specification scheme delivered in partnership with Morgan Sindall Construction.

The project required a comprehensive groundworks and infrastructure package, laying the foundations for a scheme that prioritized high performance and sustainable design.

More about the scheme

• The substructure for four new terraced buildings followed a precise multi-stage sequence, including piling mat management, pile cropping, and the construction of ground beams and RC rafts. The scope also covered the foundations, concrete slabs, and drainage required for the extensions to existing Blocks A and B. The wider infrastructure package was completed with site-wide utilities, a reinforced concrete substation base, and a sustainable drainage system (SuDS) featuring attenuation basins and swales.
• The new terraced blocks were designed to meet rigorous Passivhaus specifications, placing a premium on the thermal integrity of the substructure. Achieving this required precised installation of high-performance Hexatherm insulation and specialist Visqueen DPM systems. By ensuring these components are perfectly integrated during the foundation stage, the building envelope will meet the exacting requirements for airtightness and energy efficiency from the ground up.
• Due to the site’s location, all works were governed by a strict Traffic Management Plan and a detailed logistics strategy. To minimize the impact on the local Cambridge community, the project required total compliance with scheduled delivery windows and specific vehicle routing. This involved constant coordination to safely manage the flow of plant and materials within a constrained urban environment.