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TheSidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within theUniversity of Cambridge,England.[1][2]
The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side ofCambridge city centre, nearthe Backs. The site is north ofSidgwick Avenue and south ofWest Road, and is home to several of the university'sarts andhumanities faculties. The site is named after the philosopherHenry Sidgwick, who studied at Cambridge in the 19th century.[3] The site as it is now has its origins in plans drawn up byCasson and Conder in 1952 for making use of land to the west of the Cambridge city centre which was previously used as cricket grounds forCorpus Christi College.[4] Much of the site's current architecture derives from these original plans. However, many faculty buildings, especially to the north of the site, have been designed by separate architects with little reference to the coherence of the site as a whole. In July 2002, the oldFaculty of English, a convertedVictorian villa, was demolished, and a more practical building designed byAllies and Morrison to reflect the needs of the faculty was completed in 2004. TheAlison Richard Building, completed in 2012 and designed byNicholas Hare Architects, brings together a number of different research groups (Interdisciplinary Geographical Centres), the new department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) and the Centre for Research in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH).
On 29 October 2006,Education Not For Sale supporters at Cambridge University organised the first occupation in the UK in protest at the introduction of top-up fees on the Sidgwick Site Lecture Hall, occupying it for 12 hours.[citation needed] In 2009, Cambridge Gaza Solidarity occupied three lecture theatres and the common area of the law faculty.[5] On 22 February 2022, Cambridge Defend Education, a student-led campaign group, occupied a lecture block declaring support for the currentUniversity and College Union strike.Cambridge Students' Union, although not directly involved in the occupation issued a statement in support of the action, declaring themselves opposed to the marketisation of education.[6]
Although less popular now, the site was formerly a thriving location with the local skateboarding community because of its undercover benches, numerous sets of stairs and L-shaped concrete banks. These features have since been amended to discourage skateboarding.[7]
The following University of Cambridge faculties and departments are located on the site:[8]
TheDepartment of Land Economy is planned to move[when?] to the Sidgwick Site.
The site has abuttery which sells snacks and drinks throughout the day with seating inside and a number of picnic tables outside.[citation needed] There is also an Origin8 which offers a soup of the day, hot panini and wraps, sandwiches, snacks, and various drinks, and a number of food and drink machines along with seating in basement of the law faculty building. The Modern & Medieval Languages faculty has tea/coffee machines on all floors and a snack machine. On Thursdays, the English faculty provides "tea at 3" for students and faculty.
There is a student prayer room on the Sidgwick Site located at the back of Lecture Block A. Here, the University Islamic Society holdsJamaat five times a day.
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