Big names picked to design 5,000-home Cambridge neighbourhood

Stirling Prize-winners Haworth Tompkins and Alison Brooks Architects are among a cast of big names appointed to work up proposals for a new 5,000-home neighbourhood in north east Cambridge.

Developers U+I and TOWN have appointed Swedish practice Kjellander Sjöberg Architects to masterplan work on the 48ha neighbourhood, earmarked for the site of Anglian Water’s Cambridge Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Other high profile practices who are part of the team include Bell Phillips, 5^th Studio Architects, Nooma Studio and Feilden Fowles – named Architect of the Year in 2001 by Building’s sister title, Building Design.

In addition to the Anglian Water site, delivering the new neighbourhood will also require the redevelopment of a golf driving range, a depot and commercial buildings. As well as new homes, there will be new schools, shops, workplaces and parks based on the “five-minute neighbourhood” principle. It will be served by the Cambridge North Station, designed by Atkins, which opened in 2017.

U+I creative director Martyn Evans said the Kjellander Sjöberg-led team had been appointed in recognition of its “broad and deep expertise”, including international exemplar projects and “invaluable” local knowledge.

“We’re looking forward to this collaboration producing a world-class scheme which will become a blueprint for the delivery of new urban districts across the UK,” he said.

Kjellander Sjöberg founding director Stefan Sjöberg said the masterplan area – known as the “Core Site” – was a rare chance to shape the future of the university city.

”The Core Site is a real opportunity to engage with Cambridge; to envision an amazing place that is inclusive, sustainable, and anchored into its unique heritage and local character with connections to the adjacent Fen landscape,” he said.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shape an inspiring example of future neighbourhoods based on the principles of the five-minute city – where everything is near, and walking and biking are the priority.”

The design team said it plans to spend the remainder of the year gathering community input for the masterplan and engaging with local authorities. A planning application is expected to be submitted towards the end of next year.