Cambridge walking tours, English building guides, South East England architectural walks, UK architects visits

Cambridge Architecture Tours

English Architecture Guides – Exclusive City Walks tailor made for groups visiting Southeast England by e-architect.

post updated 7 July 2024

Book your city guide by emailing us at isabelle(at)e-architect.com

Cambridge Architecture Tour: Exclusive Guided Walks

e-architect have architectural tour guides in most of the key cities across the continent.

Our Cambridge guided tours are all tailored to suit each booking we do not allow for bookings to be joined. Our guided tours in Cambridge are all exclusive to each client.

The recently-completed Magdalene College Library University of Cambridge design by Niall McLaughlin Architects:
Magdalene College University of Cambridge Building Design
photo : Nick Kane

Cambridge Walking Tours

Should you be planning an office trip, a conference, or university trip in Cambridge please contact us and we would be happy to take your booking. This university city is an absolute delight to walk around, with plenty of car-free spaces.

Sainsbury Laboratory Building in Cambridge designed by Stanton Williams Architects – 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize Winner:
Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge Architecture Walking Tours
photograph © Hufton+Crow

Cambridge – Introduction

Cambridge is located in the south east of England, about an hour’s drive north from London. We often combine tours to the city with a visit to Oxford, home to another famous English university.

Schlumberger Building Grade II* listied design Michael Hopkins Architects:
Schlumberger Research Centre Cambridge Architecture Walking Tours
photograph © Andrew Dunn, 12 December 2005. Website: http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com/ ; photo courtesy wikimedia commons

Famous architects with buildings in the city include Sir Christopher Wren, James Stirling and Foster + Partners. Other key architects with work in the city include William Wilkins, George Basevi, Leslie Martin, Powell & Moya Architects, Gillespie Kidd & Coia and Edward Cullinan Architects. All these feature on our Cambridge Architecture Tours but note the Schlumberger Cambridge Research Center by Michael Hopkins and Partners is a fair walk west of the city.

Homerton College Cambridge Architecture, south of the city centre:
Homerton College Cambridge
photo courtesy wikimedia commons

The city is famous for its old and distinguished University. Like its twin city Oxford it has much brilliant historic and contemporary architecture. Cambridge is set on the River Cam and many of the colleges back onto gardens along the river, called The Backs, giving Cambridge a lot of its charm. Each college competes against the other to attain better and more beautiful architecture.

Cambridge Central Mosque building design by Marks Barfield Architects:
Cambridge Mosque Romsey Building
photo : Morley von Sternberg
The urban intervention of inserting a mosque capable of welcoming 1000 worshipers within a low rise, residential neighbourhood, without dominating it, is masterful. Its presence is clear but modest, considering the size of the mosque relative to the two-storey terrace houses around it.

Eddington Housing design by Mecanoo from The Netherlands:
Eddington Housing Development Cambridge England
photography : Greg Holmes and Mecanoo

Cambridge Walking Tours – Traditional, Contemporary or Both

Cambridge Architecture Tours can focus on traditional or contemporary buildings or mix of the two. The Cambridge Architecture Tour is typically an introduction to the city’s main buildings but it can be tailored to your group’s interests if you provide information to us in good time.

We are usually able accommodate your group’s specific needs and architectural interests on our Cambridge Architecture Tours. Visitors are generally met by the guide at the starting point of their architectural walking tour, but it might be possible for your group to be collected from their hotel on request.

Anglia Ruskin University Building in Cambridge by Richard Murphy Architects:
Young Street Campus Cambridge Architecture Tours
photographers : Stephen Leonard/James Mason – Richard Murphy Architects; In house – R G Carter

Contemporary Cambridge Architecture

Cambridge Walking Tours

Contact our office to arrange your Cambridge architectural tour on isabelle(at)e-architect.com

Some recent buildings in this traditional English university city:

University of Cambridge Primary School Building
Design: Marks Barfield Architects
University of Cambridge Primary School building
photo © Northwest Cambridge Development

The Welding Institute, Great Abington – A RIBA East Awards winner
Design: Eric Parry Architects
The Welding Institute, Cambridgeshire
photo © Dirk Lindner

Cowan Court Cambridge Building design by 6a architects:
Cowan Court Cambridge Architecture Tours
photograph © Johan Dehlin

Downing College Building – Heong Gallery designed by Caruso St John Architects:
Heong Gallery, Downing College | www.e-architect.com
photo © Ioana Marinescu
Downing is unusual for the city in that its buildings are laid out in an austere Classical formation. William Wilkins, who designed the National Gallery facing Trafalagar Square in London, designed some of the original buildings, all in a Neoclassical style. Towards the end of the the twentieth century there was controversy when Quinlan Terry completed some small new buildings on the west side of the campus. They formed a vivid contrast to the predominant contemporary style typical in the work of fellow English architects like Norman Foster and the late Richard Rogers.

James Dyson Building, University of Cambridge

Combined Colleges Boathouse in Cambridge

Architecture Tours

e-architect also organise architecture walking tours in other English cities such as London, Liverpool, Oxford, Manchester and Birmingham. Oxford is the suggested pairing with this city tour, another world-famous English university town.

Architecture Walking Tours

Location: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

UK Architectural Tours

English Architectural Tours – Selection

London Architecture Walking Tours

Oxford Architecture Walking Tours

Birmingham Architecture Tours

Recent Cambridge Buildings

Cambridge Building News

Cambridge Buildings : A-D

Cambridge Building Developments : E-N

Cambridge Building Designs : O-Z

Cambridge Architects

Cambridge Building

Cambridge House

Cambridge Architecture – Key Buildings Selection

Faculty of History, University of Cambridge
Design: James Stirling Architect
History Faculty Cambridge

Robinson College Buildings
Design: Gillespie Kidd & Coia
Robinson College Building
This is a famous Modern work that is included in various key histories of international architecture. The architect practice were based in Glasgow, Scotland, and well known for bold church designs.

Their most celebrated work is the Seminary at Cardross, near Helensburgh, in western Scotland. Most of their designs used expressed concrete structure, but this large group of spaces is built in brick throughout.

In some of their Scottish buildings brick panels sit between concrete columns and pilasters, but here the forms are more homogeneous due to the total brick envelope. I had the fortune to sit on various architecture juries with GK&C architect Isi Metzstein and found him to be a very talented and knowledgeable architect.
Adrian Welch, founding Editor.

Cambridge School of Architecture

English Architecture

English Architecture

English Architects

Cambridge Architect

Scottish Walking Tours

Edinburgh Walking Tours – visit buildings in the Scottish capital city

Comments / photos for the Cambridge Building ToursEnglish Architecture Guides by e-architect for pre-booked groups of visitors only page welcome.