Construction of the University of Glasgow's £300m Keystone Building is set to commence this month.

The building is designed by HOK architects and will be constructed by Multiplex, the University's principal contractor.

It will contain teaching spaces, technical facilities, collaborative areas and a café, as well as house a range of dry and wet lab spaces and high-spec computing labs.

Furthermore, it will provide general teaching facilities for the University of Glasgow's James Watt School of Engineering.

The new learning, teaching and research building will be located on the University's historic Gilmorehill campus with an estimated completion date scheduled ahead of the 2028/29 academic year. The building will accommodate around 3,600 students.

It is the fifth major building to be constructed through the University of Glasgow's Campus Development Programme, which is worth £1.3 billion.

"The Keystone Building is the exciting next step in our Campus Development Programme, which is transforming our campus and the student experience at the University of Glasgow," said Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow.


"This is a hugely significant investment for our community, providing state of the art learning and teaching facilities for over 3,600 students, which will allow us to continue to attract the brightest and best students and staff to Glasgow.

"In addition, it will deliver a range of specialist equipment and spaces to support our world-leading education in Engineering and Biomedical sciences.

"This investment in Keystone also signifies the University's continued commitment to being a civic institution for Glasgow, creating vibrant new spaces which will be of benefit to not only our own students, but also to our local community."

The new development will span a total of 27,000 square metres, making it the second largest building on the University's campus by size, after the Gilbert Scott Building.

The Keystone will be the University's most sustainable building, aiming to achieve 'BREEAM Excellent' certification, along with ambitious energy use targets.

Gary Clark, HOK's regional principal of Science +Technology, said: "The Keystone represents the future of interdisciplinary science and teaching with advanced research labs, teaching 'super labs' and the latest in sustainable design.

"Once open, it will be one of the largest net-zero-carbon university buildings in the UK, and one of the most welcoming, with neuro-inclusive workspaces embedded throughout.

"The building complements the historic architecture of the University of Glasgow through the use of stone, brick and terracotta while its dramatic responsive façade design, inspired by Victorian architecture, reveals the art of the possible in terms of both scientific learning and net-zero development."

Picture credit: HOK architects