Clare Hall is a graduate college of the University of Cambridge, originally designed in the 1960s by an English architect who lived all his working life in Sweden – Ralph Erskine. One of the reasons that, unlike many buildings of the period, it seems like a comfortable place to live in is that the architect went to a great deal of effort externally to create small scale spaces, and internally to avoid institutional corridors.

This extension to the college follows the pattern of the original, with metal one-way sloping roofs, red brick and south-facing balconies. There are no corridors; each room opens on to a generous staircase, which looks back over the college court and is lit by a large rooflight above: this is painted yellow, so even when the sun is not shining it feels warm.