Churchill College has announced plans for a new building to house its Archives Centre, allowing it to acquire more collections and improve accessibility.

The College initially considered extending the Archives Centre’s existing building, but the College Council has now voted in support of a brand new build.

In the existing Archives Centre building, the College plans to create a ‘student hub’. Churchill says this addition will improve library provision and offer more social spaces.

The plans, which were announced in an email to students, are in their early stages, having been agreed upon at a College Council meeting on Friday (30/01). They remain “subject to the funding being raised and agreement on [the building’s] placement”.

Allen Packwood, director of the Archives Centre, said: “I am delighted with the result of the Governing Body vote. But the hard work starts now, the next steps are to get to grips with consultation and planning.”

Packwood added that he welcomes views from the student community on the plans.

Churchill Archives Centre opened in 1973 and has over 640 collections, including the papers of Winston Churchill – the College’s namesake – Gordon Brown, and Margaret Thatcher. It describes itself as “an important resource for the study of modern history,” and has been recognised by UNESCO as internationally significant.

In its long-term strategy document, the Centre says it needs at least an additional 500 cubic metres of storage space, increased accessibility, and “more and better facilities” for processing documents.

A map sent to students suggests that the new build will be positioned at the southwest of Churchill’s grounds, near the chapel, which is described as a “highly accessible location”. The College emphasised, however, that this “is not necessarily the only potential site”.

Visualisations drawn up by architecture firm Architype, which worked with the College on the plans, show two possible designs with different configurations, both clad with dark wood.

The College hopes that the new building will be more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. It has not provided costs or timetables for the project, but says that full costings will be developed “once a strategy has been adopted and further design work undertaken”.

Churchill told Varsity that funding will come from “outside of the normal University and College alumni sources,” such as through heritage grants and philanthropic trusts. Therefore, t will not divert funds from other areas.

These plans come alongside a wider initiative to improve sustainability and invest in College buildings, with Churchill having “never undergone a major refurbishment” since its founding.