Clare College : Cambridge, England, UK

Clare College - Memorial Court buildings Memorial Court, off Queens' Road 1923-24; 1984-85 Giles Gilbert Scott; - photo © Adrian Welch The central octagonal building (left of picture) 1984-85, is surrounded by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's severe court of 1923-34. Located beyond the River Cam across The Backs from the old Clare College. The brown colour and massive detailing makes this building feel wooden and unfriendly, grand from the front but requiring softness in its court, eg a colonnade or two. The later building ingeniously slotted into the court by a different architect is contextual from the east (front) but becomes a warm postmodern homage to Italian palazzos on the west, facing Giles Gilbert Scott's Cambridge University Library. Clare College - New Court 2009 van Heyningen and Haward Architects photo © Will Pryce Clare College New Court