About the project

The envisioned world-class Centre of Excellence for research, education, and training consists of two buildings, the Heritage Quad and the Technology Hub, housing masons’ workshops, new state-of-the art digital fabrication tools, a drawing room, and a hall of residence for interns and international collaborators. In the current context of declining craft skills, with only 10 Cathedrals of the 42 Anglican Cathedrals in England continuing to have their own dedicated craftspeople, these two buildings are immensely important, to inspire the future generations of craftspeople, enable the research of advanced new tools and processes, and to preserve and catalyse best practice for the future of our heritage.

Northern light, urban vistas, passive ventilation, structural efficiency, and solar orientation have been optimised through the iterative development of the building and roof geometry. The proposed 1-storey Heritage Quad is set in the precinct’s heritage setting, between the city wall and the Cathedral. The new timber structure repurposes the structure of the existing U-shaped buildings and boundary wall. The roof lifts to invite public viewing into the workshop atop the city wall, and lifts to frame distant views of the cathedral from within the workshop. The proposed timber Technology Hub houses a new 5-axis CNC saw alongside other large-scale machinery, bringing together a community of workshops for glaziers, joiners, plumbers, and electricians. Inspiring local, national, and international communities, the Centre of Excellence will foster the understanding of our shared Heritage, whilst nurturing and celebrating the living community of clergy and craftspeople at York Minster.