‌The design team for the University of Glasgow’s new College of Arts building has been appointed, it has just been announced. 

A team led by Hawkins\Brown Architects has been selected as the winner after a rigorous competition process from a shortlist of six teams and over 20 applications.

All six design teams made public presentations and took part in a Q&A session at an event on 1 November 2017 to which all members of the College were invited.

Professor Roibeard Ó Maolalaigh, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Arts, said: “Our vision is to create a place that stimulates and supports critical thinking, innovative learning, engaging teaching, and world-class research. The new building will also provide a range of cultural and learning opportunities for our local community and the city of Glasgow as a whole.

“As well as offering an outstanding place to think, learn, teach and collaborate, our aspiration is that this building will support the health and wellbeing of our staff and students.

“The Hawkins\Brown team demonstrated an excellent understanding of our brief to develop a creative thinking space which will act as an inspiration for the Arts and Humanities.

“We are looking forward to working with the design team in a collaborative way, where we listen to all user groups to develop a building solution that meets their needs. We are excited to see our new building’s design develop over the coming months.”

Eleanor Magennis, Project Development Manager for the College of Arts project, said: “The new College of Arts will be a gateway building connecting the University with the West End’s Cultural Quarter.

“Our masterplan calls for a distinctive building of high architectural quality. This will be Hawkins\Brown’s first project in Scotland and they impressed us during the interview process with their experience, enthusiasm and engaging approach.”

Hawkins\Brown Architects has an excellent track record in designing unique spaces.

Among its portfolio is the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre in Buckinghamshire; University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture and the Creative Arts Building for Leeds Beckett University.

Roger Hawkins, Founding Partner of Hawkins\Brown, said: “We are delighted to be working on the exciting new College of Arts building for University of Glasgow to provide an inviting space that will ignite creativity and innovative thinking.

“Key to our design was the potential exchange of cultural ideas for students, staff and the wider public of Glasgow.”

The College of Arts new building is part of the University’s ambitious campus development programme on the site of the former Western Infirmary. The new building will be on the south of the site facing Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery and will be a key part of a new cultural quarter in the west end of Glasgow.

Over the next year, the design team will work closely with the College of Arts and Estates and Commercial Services staff to develop the new building from concept to detail design. The new building is due to be completed in 2022.

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First published: 6 February 2018