The University is pleased today to announce the re-opening of the hundred and three year-old Bower Building.

A fire in October 2001 severely damaged the building on University Avenue that housed the Botany (Plant Sciences) branch of the University's Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences (IBLS) Department. The building formed an integral part in the aesthetic appeal of the University's Gilmorehill Campus.

Pamela Ward, Project Officer for Estates and Buildings explains: 'Whilst the fire severely damaged the roof and internal make-up of the building, the facades of the building remained largely intact and a decision was taken at the earliest opportunity to retain the external envelope of the building in order to maintain the current visual impact of the University Campus.'

The original building has been insensitively altered on a piecemeal basis over many years, to the extent that most of the original character of the interior spaces has been largely destroyed. It was therefore considered of little benefit to retain this and the opportunity was taken to provide a modern research and teaching space.

The £10.8 million refit by Boswell Mitchell & Johnston Architects provides an additional floor level and features a central atrium space extending from the ground floor to a fully glazed roof lantern light. This central atrium space accommodates the main stair and lift connecting all the floor levels and provides a main focal point for the whole building. The area will also provide the opportunity for informal contact among staff and students and promote a sense of community. The original main entrance to the building is retained and leads through an entrance foyer directly into the central atrium space.

Professor Julia M. Goodfellow CBE, Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council will officially open the rebuilt Bower Building at 12 noon today.

Media Relations Office (media@gla.ac.uk)

For more details please contact Mike Findlay in the University Press Office on 0141 330-3535 or email: m.findlay@admin.gla.ac.uk.

The completion of the newly fitted Bower Building coincides with ?Historic Bloomers? an exhibition at the Hunterian to mark 300 years of the teaching of Botany at the University of Glasgow. The exhibition runs until 24 December.

The opening also runs concurrently with the Biochemical Society Focused Meeting ?Plant signalling from genes to biochemistry?, incorporating the 2nd Glasgow Phoenix Meeting. As part of this meeting and as an IBLS Seminar, Dr. Chris Somerville (Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institute of Washington) will deliver the Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins Memorial Lecture entitled ?Genetic dissection of cell wall structure and function?. The medal lecture will be held in the Graham Kerr Lecture Theatre, Graham Kerr Building, starting at 4.45pm. Following the lecture, there will be a wine reception in the Bower Building between 6.00 and 7.00pm.

First published: 11 November 2004