This project is part of the Scottish institution’s £ 1 billion Campus Development Program, which will focus on revitalizing a 14-acre site that formerly housed the Western Infirmary—a teaching hospital established in 1874—in the city’s West End.
“We are delighted to be collaborating with the University of Glasgow and its passionate and engaged group of stakeholders to provide user-centric solutions that address the Engineering Building’s needs now and well into the future,” Principal Jonathan Leah said. Sydney-based Principal Georgia Singleton, who leads firm’s Education and Science sector was instrumental in landing the prestigious commission and will continue to work with the Woods Bagot team and client stakeholders to bring the project to fruition.
The complex, which is estimated to cost £ 150 million, will harken a new generation of engineering for one of the country’s four historic universities. Inside, staff and students will have access to innovative teaching spaces, laboratories, and a Creativity Lab. Smart Building and Smart Campus technology will be integrated into the complex to allow both researchers and students to engage with the building’s energy and structural data to eventually develop new tools and methodologies.
Its outward positioning towards the rest of the campus will allow for exhibiting new projects to the public. This transparency will carry through to its interiors’ functionalities, housing visualization and data analysis conferences and workshops with industry experts to inhibit interdisciplinary collaboration. The school will also open it up its facilities to international engineering competitions.
“Glasgow is renowned for engineering innovation, and the discoveries made here have shaped the world around us for centuries. This is now an opportunity to change how we do engineering at the University of Glasgow, and create our future world-shaping engineering heritage,” Margaret Lucas, Professor of Ultrasonics at the University of Glasgow, who leads the project, said. “Working with the team at Woods Bagot is an exciting collaboration for us, to develop a new unique and iconic home for Engineering at the University of Glasgow.”