The Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, today unveiled a plaque to open the new building for the Faculty of Education on Hills Road.

The striking 9.5-million-pound building provides a permanent home for the UK’s leading provider of teacher-training.

In August 2001 the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education became one of the largest groups of educational researchers and teacher educators in the country. The new Faculty reflects a strategic commitment by the University of Cambridge to contribute to excellence in all phases of public education, both nationally and internationally. Bringing together colleagues from the former University School of Education and Homerton College in 2001, the integrated Faculty currently has an academic staff of six professors, three readers and some 80 lecturers/senior lecturers. Last Summer it was named the leading provider of teacher training in the country in an independently produced league table.

The new Faculty building, in the grounds of Homerton College, brings together staff and students formerly accommodated on three sites across Cambridge. It reflects the international reputation for excellence in teaching and research in education that the Faculty enjoys.

International architects Building Design Partnership (BDP) have created a building of two distinct sections, linked by a central ‘street’ social area. On one side will be the library with arching curved wooden ‘Glulam’ beams. Teaching space and offices are on the southern brick-built side, facing neighbouring Homerton College. Environmental sustainability was a key priority in the design.

Architect Benedict Zucchi from BDP said: “Our aim was to provide a distinctive character for this new Cambridge faculty, shaping the architecture around the idea of a community of teachers and researchers. We have taken advantage of the existing mature landscape and given the building its own identity, providing a strong presence alongside neighbouring Homerton College.

“The form of the building is derived both from an expression of internal activities and the characteristics of the site, including the listed Trumpington House and existing gardens. We have brought lots of natural light in so that all communal areas enjoy views out, with a sense of openness rather than corridors, to enhance the community feel. It was also important to be as environmentally sustainable as possible using light, natural ventilation and the timber on the northern section.”

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