Murray Edwards Lecture: 'NOT a convent: Building a College for Women'

Speaker: Professor Dr Christina Strunck

The story of designing a building for women, as discovered in the archive of New Hall.

Designed in 1958-1961 by Peter Chamberlin, chief exponent of “a highly refined, sophisticated modernism”, the architecture of New Hall brims with references to the masterpieces of continental architecture.  Although women’s colleges had existed in Cambridge since the late 19th century, it was only in 1947 that women were formally admitted as members of the University.

The foundation of New Hall (now Murray Edwards College) in 1954 served to strengthen the position of female students within the still largely male institution. Accordingly, the new College buildings were intended as a bold and progressive statement.

On the basis of documents and drawings from the College archives, this lecture, given by alumna Professor Dr Christina Strunck (New Hall, 1991) Professor of History of Art at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg will reconstruct the design process and analyse the features in the architecture that endorse a specific vision of women’s education.

6:00 - 7:00pm: Lecture and Q&A
7:00 - 7:45pm: Drinks reception

Free entry, but booking essential: https://not-a-convent.eventbrite.co.uk