Trinity Hall has become the first College in the University of Cambridge to use a “3D virtual tour” system that allows anyone to “walk” around the 670-year-old College’s grounds.
Using the tour you can see the historic buildings by the River Cam and pass along the same corridors as famous alumni like Professor Stephen Hawking and actor Rachel Weisz, as well as former Prime Ministers, novelists and Nobel laureates.
The platform, launched today, will allow prospective applicants to view the College, regardless of where they are in the world; something made all the more important by pandemic restrictions.
Dr Marcus Tomalin, Director of Admissions at Trinity Hall, said: “The University of Cambridge can often seem like a remote and inaccessible place, especially to potential applicants who are unable to attend Open Days and Residentials.
“Therefore we must do everything we can to enable people to visit Trinity Hall remotely and explore its facilities. This new Virtual Tour will make it possible for prospective applicants to wander through all the main spaces on Central Site, including several student rooms.
“The College has never before been opened up in this way to the public, and we are thrilled that so many visitors will be able to find out more about the beautiful learning environment we provide.”
For the last year the Trinity Hall Admissions team have been using virtual webinars and social media posts to sustain their outreach and support their applicants and offer-holders. However, such events are limited in their capacity to familiarise future students with the space and atmosphere of the College. Faced with this challenge the Admissions team commissioned Venue View to produce a virtual tour of the College’s Central Site.
Online visitors can now use the platform to navigate their way through all the main spaces on Central Site, including several student rooms, the historic Dining Hall, and both the modern Jerwood Library and the Old Library where books dating back 900 years can be found. The tour can be accessed via the website. Trinity Hall is the first Cambridge college tour Venue View has captured.
Managing Director of Venue View, Keith McMahon, who personally captured the tour, said “It was an honour to be asked to shoot Trinity Hall. The buildings’ history and uniqueness make it such a special venue. It was essential that the virtual tour does justice to how wonderful the spaces are in ‘real life’”
The Admissions Team will continue their partnership with Venue View in 2022 to capture more of Trinity Hall’s facilities across the City. The College hopes to tailor the project for its different community members, giving its alumni and anyone wishing to use its events facilities more personalised tours.
The project was made possible by a donation from alumnus Tim Bunting who recognises the importance of widening participation.
