Civic Trust Award Win

Date Published: 07.03.2022

Wadham’s transformational new Back Quad Buildings have won a coveted 2022 Civic Trust Award.

The Willian Doo Undergraduate Centre (left) and Dr Lee Shau Kee Building (right)

The Dr Lee Shau Kee Building and William Doo Undergraduate Centre have been presented with the Civic Trust’s Michael Middleton Special Award – presented to a restoration project or new build within a conservation area.

The Judges comment: “The buildings are a very clever response to a very difficult site with challenging context. The result has provided accessible and spacious spaces for students and also created two new quads with different characters.”

Wadham College Domestic Bursar, Frances Lloyd adds: “The new buildings have been transformational to student life here at Wadham, providing latest facilities within elegant buildings which sit perfectly within our historic campus. We are delighted to see this project recognised by the Civic Trust.”

Warden Robert Hannigan added: “We are delighted with the news of this award and I would like to express my gratitude to the enormous contribution from our alumni and friends which made the project possible.”

Wadham’s new buildings, designed by AL_A architects, provide a hub for undergraduate social life as well as a centre for many of the College’s access and outreach activities. Funding for the project has come from the generosity of alumni and friends to whom the College is extremely grateful.

The aim of the Civic Trust Awards is to encourage the very best in architecture, to improve the built environment for us all through design, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility, and also to reward projects that offer a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to their local communities.

From 160 entries this year, 45 projects have been recognised with a Civic Trust Award or been Highly Commended. Submissions were received from the UK, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, UAE, USA and Somaliland, reflecting the awards’ continuing international reach. Wadham’s award is presented as a memorial and tribute to Michael Middleton CBE, who established the Civic Trust Awards in 1959.