The six-storey building, which has been designed by Hassell, will provide 11,600m2 of specialised teaching and research space for the postgraduate taught (PGT) student community, as well as premises for the university’s Adam Smith Business School.
It is the fourth major new building in the University’s £1bn campus development programme, and the first in the plan to be purpose-designed for PGT students.
Construction of the building, which will form a gateway between Glasgow’s cultural quarter and the University’s new campus square, will begin in July and is expected to be completed in 2022.
Hassell’s design features a precast vertical concrete facade to honour the university’s long-standing civic partnership, balanced with modern architecture, a central atrium, and extensive light wells. Its front façade is cantilevered to create a double-height entrance plaza, connecting the building’s indoor and outdoor spaces.
The unique postgraduate teaching hub is organised into three interconnected stacks, for research, collaboration and teaching.
The research stack, looking out to the city, will contain private workspaces and project spaces. The collaborative stack, at the heart of the building, is designed to encourage informal interaction between students, academics and professionals. It will also feature specialist teaching spaces including a trading suite and data visualisation room. The teaching stack, which will face the existing campus, will be adaptable.
The area surrounding the new building, which will be located on the southern boundary of the site, will be landscaped to create a gateway onto the expanded campus.
Hassell principal Julian Gitsham said: "The project demonstrates the University of Glasgow’s commitment to creating world-class facilities for tomorrow’s business leaders."
Professor John Finch, head of the Adam Smith Business School, said: “This new development will increase scope for cross-disciplinary collaboration across the University. It will create inspiring spaces to facilitate innovation and support learning and teaching within and between degree programmes.”
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