CONSTRUCTION of a “major new learning, teaching and research” campus for the University of Glasgow is set to begin this month.
The £300 million Keystone building will be built in the city’s West End on its historic Gilmorehill campus and is expected to be completed by the start of the 2028/29 academic year.
It will be the fifth major building to be constructed through the University of Glasgow’s £1.3 billion Campus Development Programme - the Adam Smith Building School was the most recently completed project which opened in December 2023.
The University of Glasgow’s bosses said the “world-class facility” will be dedicated to learning, teaching, and research and will accommodate around 3600 students.
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Spanning a total of 27,000 square metres the new Keystone building will be the second largest establishment on the university’s campus by size, after the Gilbert Scott Building.
Professor Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, has hailed the new state-of-the-art facilities which he said will continue to “attract the brightest and best students” to Glasgow.
He said: “The Keystone building is the exciting next step in our Campus Development Programme, which is transforming our campus and the student experience at the University of Glasgow.
“This is a hugely significant investment for our community, providing state of the art learning and teaching facilities for over 3600 students, which will allow us to continue to attract the brightest and best students and staff to Glasgow. In addition, it will deliver a range of specialist equipment and spaces to support our world-leading education in Engineering and Biomedical sciences.
“This investment in Keystone also signifies the University’s continued commitment to being a civic institution for Glasgow, creating vibrant new spaces which will be of benefit to not only our own students, but also to our local community.”
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Designed by HOK architects and constructed by the university's principal contractor, Multiplex, the building will serve as a hub for students and offer a mix of general teaching spaces, technical facilities, collaborative areas and a café.
The Keystone building will also house a range of dry and wet lab spaces, as well as high-spec computing labs.
There are also plans to provide a maker’s workshop and general teaching facilities for the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering.
Gary Clark, HOK's regional principal of Science +Technology, said: “The Keystone represents the future of interdisciplinary science and teaching with advanced research labs, teaching ‘super labs’ and the latest in sustainable design.
“Once open, it will be one of the largest net-zero-carbon university buildings in the UK, and one of the most welcoming, with neuro-inclusive workspaces embedded throughout.
“The building complements the historic architecture of the University of Glasgow through the use of stone, brick and terracotta while its dramatic responsive façade design, inspired by Victorian architecture, reveals the art of the possible in terms of both scientific learning and net-zero development.”
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