Oaklands College – Refectory

Located on the south side of College Square, it will provide refreshment, dining and social spaces to support both students and staff. Rather than introducing a new standalone building, the proposals retain and remodel the existing structure, transforming it into a larger and more welcoming environment better suited to the college’s growing population and changing patterns of campus life.

The Refectory forms part of the wider regeneration of Oaklands College’s St Albans campus. Once a manor house and former agricultural college, the campus has evolved over time through an assortment of teaching buildings set within its grounds. Although a highly successful college, much of the estate is no longer fit for purpose and needs renewal to meet modern expectations. The wider masterplan responds by introducing nine new buildings, connected by landscape improvements that enhance the Green Belt setting and group departments and student-focused uses around a new college square. Within this wider framework, the Refectory will retain and refurbish an existing building, replacing an undersized and outdated dining environment with a more flexible and welcoming social space for campus life. 

Internally, the design is organised around a central dining hall, making use of the existing high ceiling and top lighting to create a bright communal space. A stepped section toward the rear introduces a range of dining environments, including café seating, refectory tables, casual seating and quieter areas. Along the front edge facing College Square, a planted conservatory-style space will act as a buffer between the dining hall and the square, opening up in good weather or for events. To the rear, glazed doors will connect the hall to a south-facing courtyard for outdoor dining and informal activity. A student lounge alongside the main hall will provide leisure and recreation space, including lounge seating, games areas, an e-games zone and quieter places for relaxation between classes. 

The retained building is constructed in a dark multi-brick that relates to the adjacent stables, and the refurbishment introduces a small extension in light stone-coloured brick, glazing and metal framing to visually connect with the Creative Gateway. This approach allows the building to sit more comfortably within the wider masterplan while helping frame a more coherent College Square. Its low-rise form and retained structure also maintain continuity with the existing campus fabric while allowing the building to take on a renewed role at the centre of college life.