Living + Learning

Living + Learning

Living + Learning

Living + Learning describes a selection of our work in academic and collegiate contexts over the past 25 years.

Estate Masterplans

Our team creates frameworks for strategic decisions to be easily made. Frameworks which enhance existing buildings, infrastructure, and landscape to maximise potential. We have been involved in a range of projects across the country, projects that have enriched their settings. MICA’s work includes estate wide appraisals and masterplans, review of built fabric and conservation statements, new build, refurbishment and extensions to boarding houses and education facilities.

Selected Projects

Stowe School, Buckinghamshire; Cheltenham Ladies’ College; Bede’s Senior School, East Sussex; Mansfield College, Oxford; East Ham Civic Campus, London; The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn; Lancaster University Bailrigg Campus; King’s College London; Keble College, Oxford; Jesus College, Oxford.

“MICA brought superb master-planning and coherence to the academic area and allowed the School to develop an educational vision which has made Stowe into one of the top independent schools in the UK.”
–Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, Headmaster

Stowe School grounds - MICA developments marked in yellow
Cheltenham Ladies' College - aerial view of existing land ownership
Cheltenham Ladies' College - establishing a connecting route across College
St Bede's Senior School - aerial view of the existing estate
1 / 4 Stowe School grounds - MICA developments marked in yellow

Boarding Houses

MICA has twenty years of experience working with Stowe School, from Estates masterplanning to delivering four purpose built boarding houses and a transformative refurbishment of the art school.

“West has quickly established itself as a popular destination for Sixth Form pupils coming to Stowe: it is highly acclaimed for its daring geometry, superb facilities, beautifully proportioned rooms and carefully thought out assonance with the surrounding Western Gardens.”
–Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, Headmaster of Stowe

Queen’s and Stanhope Houses. RIBA award winning co-joined boarding houses for 144 girls. Connecting with the wider landscape, externally the houses respond to the shift in geometry of the historic gardens and Chapel context. Internally the spaces are simply and efficiently tailored around the needs of young adults and staff.
West House. MICA offered an opportunity to depart from the tried-and-tested boarding arrangements, and create a new typology with shared spaces at the heart of the design.
Chapel Court. A new three storey boarding house located on a site not thought deliverable provides en-suite study bedrooms for 60 pupils, shared spaces, staff accommodation, with a terrace within a new “secret garden”. The building provides a backdrop to the Chapel and flexes around established trees providing a fourth side to the courtyard.
1 / 3 Queen’s and Stanhope Houses. RIBA award winning co-joined boarding houses for 144 girls. Connecting with the wider landscape, externally the houses respond to the shift in geometry of the historic gardens and Chapel context. Internally the spaces are simply and efficiently tailored around the needs of young adults and staff.
West House girls study boarding room
West House common space
Queen's Boarding rooms
1 / 3 West House girls study boarding room

Mansfield College approached MICA over 10 years ago to devise a strategy for the development of their main campus, and to realise their ambition to house all undergraduates on this site, creating a friendly base containing all the services required for the student community.

Through the masterplan MICA were able to identify opportunities to refurbish and rationalise the existing buildings, as well as sensitively creating new buildings within the established grounds, replacing existing buildings in poor condition. Four phases have been completed which through efficient planning, achieve greater density while retaining high quality spaces.

“One of the most recent striking examples of CLT construction is The Hands Building in Love Lane, Mansfield College.”
–Stephen Powney

Hands Building. A new addition to Mansfield College, Oxford with en-suite study bedroom for up to 73 students and a 165-seat multipurpose lecture theatre. The project uses innovative construction including European cross-laminated timber construction to minimise disruption to the College. The building also finds space to accommodate the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, the Institute is dedicated to fostering excellent research and scholarship in human rights law.
Hands Building.
Hands Building.
1 / 3 Hands Building. A new addition to Mansfield College, Oxford with en-suite study bedroom for up to 73 students and a 165-seat multipurpose lecture theatre. The project uses innovative construction including European cross-laminated timber construction to minimise disruption to the College. The building also finds space to accommodate the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, the Institute is dedicated to fostering excellent research and scholarship in human rights law.

Contemporary education and learning spaces

We are dedicated to the creation of beautiful and inspiring education spaces that are produced through economy and efficiency.

“Anyone designing for higher education can learn much from them... the practice has quietly produced some of the best new university buildings of recent years, from Oxford to Liverpool.”
–Hugh Pearman, RIBA Journal

Stowe Art School
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre
1 / 2 Stowe Art School

Being careful with the past

Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre is a completely new endeavour created specifically out of the former council office space. The NCS focus is on maths, science and technology, and houses science laboratories and classrooms for 500 students. The project involved integrating high quality teaching spaces into the Grade II listed building. The project restored heritage features unique to the building including glazed terracotta wyverns, glazed tiles, and terrazzo flooring, blending historic spaces with engaging learning environments with purpose built benches and smart walls.

“Stunning Grade 2 listed buildings in East Ham with excellent resources and facilities to support outstanding A Level teaching and learning."
–Newham Collegiate Sixth Form College

Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre prior to works
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre science lab
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre prior to works
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre entrance
Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre entrance prior to works
1 / 7 Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre

Spacemaking buildings

Being precious with every m2 is a continual theme in our work, to protect future development opportunities. We like to think of this approach in terms of spacemaking buildings, giving opportunity to create outdoor rooms, and enhance the surrounding setting. This is evident at our work at Keble College, combining perimeter development, efficient planning, and the sculpting of ground levels to create addition floorplate.

ARCO building manipulates the ground plane to create additional floors
ARCO building
Keble College main campus masterplan identified a number of potential sites within the grounds, offering a 600 year development plan.
Sloane Robinson buildings provides a new auditorium + student accommodation.
1 / 4 ARCO building manipulates the ground plane to create additional floors

Unlocking site potential

By understanding the historic building context at Mansfield College we were able to remove later additions, restore original features, and integrate modern catering provision and dining. Painstaking but essential combination of challenges helped to make the building suitable for modern use.

East Range Mansfield College, outdoor cafe terrace
East Range Mansfield College concept sketch
East Range Mansfield College new circulation linking existing buildings to extension
East Range Mansfield College, cafe
Restored Dining Hall Mansfield College Chapel
1 / 5 East Range Mansfield College, outdoor cafe terrace

Sensitive implementation

We are continually working in operationally active sites and have gained support from our client’s in the way we the ensure safety and continuity of learning environments. We apply the following approaches:

–Early engagement.
–Pragmatic approach and facilities management ‘centred’.
–Considered logistics: enabling, phased development, safeguarding.
–Limiting disturbance through modern methods of construction, including CLT.
–Meeting timeframes, and seizing windows of opportunity.

Hands Building, CLT construction
Hands Building as complete
1 / 2 Hands Building, CLT construction

Sustainable innovation

Low-energy strategies. At MICA we recognise the importance of a strong narrative with a robust parameters to underpin a project. Always on the premise that the setting is improved. We continually explore new technologies and materials to ensure the projects we design go beyond the limitations of today and offer lasting value: BIM Level 2 capable. Integrated and complementary systems, utilising site aspect and passive design knowledge.

The Queen's College Oxford
The Queen's College Oxford
1 / 2 The Queen's College Oxford

Participation and dialogue

We are a friendly and collaborative team who enjoy working closely with clients, consultants and stakeholders. We balance the need to sometimes challenge the status-quo, whilst listening and heeding the feedback we recieve. We share our ideas and values which maintains openness and enables people to positively contribute to the process.

We have significant experience working with donors and fundraisers from a variety of public and private sources. We understand the process in securing funding and support for major capital projects. We know how to present and develop proposals which appeal to donors and are instrumental in bringing key funders into our project.

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