Brasenose College – Student Accommodation Retrofit

Some buildings are too important to replace. The challenge is making them fit for the future.

Brasenose College wanted to modernise Frewin Hall without losing the character that makes it one of Oxford's most significant historic buildings.

Balancing heritage, carbon and cost

Frewin Hall has been part of Oxford for centuries. Today it provides student accommodation, but the Grade II listed building had become cold, draughty and expensive to heat. The aim was to transform 13 student bedrooms into warm, modern en-suite accommodation while opening up more shared space for the wider College community, reducing operational carbon and protecting the historic fabric for generations to come.

Working as part of a multidisciplinary design team, we developed a cost strategy that balanced heritage conservation, low-carbon retrofit ambitions and funding requirements, managing cost, risk and funding throughout the project.

Giving the College confidence to go further

We developed cost options ranging from targeted improvements to a full deep retrofit. We also aligned project costs with Salix funding requirements, giving the College a clear understanding of eligible funding and its own investment requirements.

That clarity gave Brasenose the confidence to pursue the most ambitious option, introducing extensive insulation, secondary glazing, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and ground source heat pumps while preserving the building's historic character.

Delivering the scheme within a constrained listed site in central Oxford required careful planning and close collaboration across the project team.

Managing risk on a complex heritage project

One of the biggest commercial challenges centred on the ground source heat pumps. To secure time-limited Salix funding, the borehole works needed to begin before the wider contract was fully let. That meant balancing programme, funding and commercial risk.

We helped the College evaluate those risks, separating the works into an earlier package, advising on procurement and providing the commercial certainty needed to keep the project moving while protecting access to external funding.

Our experience working on heritage buildings across Oxford proved invaluable. We understood the realities of working within the city's colleges, from tight site constraints and academic calendars to specialist conservation materials and local supply chains. That knowledge enabled the College plan ahead, reduce risk and avoid unnecessary delays.

Setting the standard for future retrofit

Frewin Hall is the first building in the Brasenose estate to undergo this type of deep retrofit, creating a model for future decarbonisation projects across Oxford's historic colleges.

The scheme not only improved student accommodation but also opened historic shared spaces for everyday use. Students can now enjoy historic rooms such as the Panelled Room and Drawing Room, alongside a café-style area, library reading rooms and the restored medieval undercroft.

It reduced space heating demand by 74%, cut operational carbon emissions by 78% and removed gas from the building entirely, with more than 1,100 tonnes of CO₂ expected to be saved by 2045. The project demonstrates what's possible when historic buildings are carefully adapted rather than replaced.