New Glasgow: Inside the new £100m+ University of Glasgow building to be built on site of former historic West End hospital in 13 pictures

Designs for a new state of the art building at the University of Glasgow have been submitted for planning approval to Glasgow City Council.

Following lengthy pre-application consultations with both the community and Glasgow City Council, it is expected to be approved, with construction expected to come to completion in September 2027.

The Keystone Building hopes to become the centre of the new Western Campus of the University of Glasgow constructed over the site of the former Western Infirmary. It will expand over 26,000 metres squared on the eastern edge of St Mungo Square on the Gilmorehill Campus, directly adjacent from the new Advanced Research Centre (ARC) building.

Spread over six floors, the new building will have capacity for 520 academic staff and post-graduate researchers and almost 3,900 undergraduate seats. It will also include 1,900 general teaching seats, 915 computer seats and 960 ‘super lab’ teaching seats.

A design statement included with the planning application said: “The Keystone building represents an opportunity for the University to create a building that is not only unique and fulfils an urgent requirement for high-quality learning, teaching and research space. But becomes a world-class exemplar of sustainable development that addresses the climate and bio-diversity emergency — in essence a beacon of hope that we can deliver whole life, net zero carbon buildings now.

“The academic success of this building will be in creating a vibrant and inspirational place to attract and retain the world’s most talented staff and students to study and work.

“And finally, the building itself becomes the fourth generation of multi-use building in the nearly 600 years of the University of Glasgow history.

“The new Keystone building presents an opportunity to shift the centre of gravity of the University of Glasgow campus.

 “Both research and teaching facilities are impacted by significant growth year upon year, and ageing facilities that do not address current needs in a manner consistent with the world-class reputation of the university.

“The new Keystone building seeks to address the need in a way that creates next-generation state-of-the-art facilities that push the boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration with agile spaces that flex over the life of the building.”

The University of Glasgow have said that the name of the building has been inspired by the dual role it has in “securing the vision for the Western campus, and in the opportunities it will unlock for the rest of the university”.

Take a look below as we explore what the building will look like both inside and outside using images from the planning application, to view the application in full, click here.