The Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow has won two prestigious architectural awards.

The hospital at the University’s Garscube Campus scooped the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland’s Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award on Friday, as well as the Glasgow Institute of Architects’ (GIA) Supreme Award.

The hospital was designed by Archial Architects for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at a cost of £15m which was met through public donations, Faculty funds and loans against future fees.

The Andrew Doolan Award is the richest architectural prize in the UK – with the winning designers scooping £25,000. The Small Animal Hospital was praised as ‘unique and ingenious’ for the way in which the building is designed to complement its surroundings.

The judges said: “The building is set unobtrusively into its setting, a massive grassed roof creating a new hillside within the landscape.

“[its] great triumph is the unique and ingenious way it integrates a very substantial medical facility within the parkland setting of Glasgow University’s Garscube Estate. However, the rooftop ‘lantern’ and the boldly defined entrance ensure that this superb building declares its presence and scale.”

Professor Stuart Reid, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded these prizes.

“The hospital is a fantastic building to work in and provides a truly inspiring and professional environment for staff and clients. It is undoubtedly one of the best facilities of its kind in the world.”

The hospital is located on the University’s Garscube Campus in Bearsden and its sloping grass roof complements its environment. A central atrium allows the hospital to be lit by natural light providing a calming ambience to anxious pets and their owners.

The building contains a host of facilities, including a diagnostic suite complete with both MRI and CT scanners, a radioactive iodine unit for cats, an underwater treadmill and a pain and rehabilitation centre, all of which are centred around the light and airy central treatment area.

The Small Animal Hospital construction was successfully managed and delivered within budget and on programme by Estates & Buildings Projects Services Group.
 
The Beatson Institute, also nominated for the Doolan award, was highly-commended and won the GIA award last year.

For more information contact Stuart Forsyth in the University of Glasgow Media Relations Office on 0141 330 4831 or email s.forsyth@admin.gla.ac.uk

Notes to Editors
The RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture award was founded in 2002, as the RIAS Award for Architecture by the architect Andrew Doolan. The award is given to the best new building in Scotland, as judged by a jury of assessors. The value of the prize is £25,000, making it the largest prize for architecture in the UK. From 2005 the award was renamed in his memory.

The Glasgow Institute of Architects is the Glasgow Chapter of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, covering an area from Gretna in the south-east to Oban, Coll and Tiree in the north-west. The GIA is one of the oldest Chapters of the RIAS and has the largest membership of the six RIAS Chapters.

First published: 23 November 2009

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