Homerton College’s spectacular new dining hall will cut carbon emissions by 40%

A dining hall with capacity for 336 people has been completed at Homerton College after two years of work, and its heating system is expected to cut carbon emissions by about 40 per cent.

Ingleton Wood, the Oakington Business Park-based property and construction consultancy, was project manager and principal designer for the work, which comprised a dining hall, buttery, kitchens and other staff amenities.

The hall will be used for daily dining and formal events, while a balcony in the buttery offers students an alternative setting for socialising or quiet study.

The hall is expected to have a minimum 100-year lifespan. It is all-electric and passively ventilated, with a ground source heat pump that reduces CO2 emissions from heating and hot water.

Nick Bryant, project manager at Ingleton Wood, said: “Homerton College has been a client of ours for many years, and we were delighted to utilise our extensive experience within the campus to support this project.

“In 2014 we prepared an overall college masterplan which identified the dining hall’s construction as one phase of the implementation process. We have worked with the college and contractors to carry out all of the previous phases, including new post-graduate accommodation, refurbishment of the Queens Wing building, a new college bar, the provision of new guest bedrooms, an auditorium and music practice rooms.”

The college’s dining facilities were previously housed in its historic buildings, but it needed extra capacity and modernisations.

The faience tiles echo the formal motifs of its neighbouring buildings.

College principal Lord Simon Woolley said: “Our new dining hall is a beautiful beacon which from the outside speaks to our ambition and values, and on the inside provides space for our students, Fellows, staff and guests to have conversations, debates, music, theatre and of course, fine dining, all under this magical roof.”