Babbage Reimagined: Retrofitting for Net Zero Future
As the race to net zero accelerates, transforming outdated, carbon-heavy education buildings into resilient, high-performing spaces is urgent and complex. This presentation explores the retrofit of the University of Plymouth’s 1970s Babbage Building - an ambitious project showing how deep retrofit reduces carbon, preserves heritage, and creates inclusive, future-ready environments. We share architectural and client perspectives, lessons learned, and insights on balancing sustainability, flexibility, and programme constraints. This case study offers a blueprint for higher education estates, demonstrating how aligning design ambition with climate goals can drive sector-leading transformation.

The Castle Bailey Quad
The Castle Bailey Quad project, by Design Engine Architects, delivers new student bedrooms in two sensitively designed blocks beside the historic Oxford Castle. The development balances contemporary, high-quality architecture with sustainability, achieving the Passivhaus Low Energy Building standard for energy efficiency. In contrast to typical Passivhaus design aesthetics, it features split massing, and a complex facade of precast stone, handmade bricks, deep window reveals, and terracotta shading. The project achieves a harmony with surrounding heritage buildings, and the new courtyard continues Oxford’s traditional college typology. This presentation will showcase the project's architecture alongside construction insights from contractor Willmott Dixon.