Archial Architects has completed the £20m Scottish Borders Campus at Galashiels, the new home for many of the Borders College further and higher education courses as well as Heriot-Watt's higher education provision in the Scottish Borders.

A result of a ground breaking co-location project, the new campus seeks to provides a centre for educational excellence within the Borders and allow the college and the university to each benefit from a range of shared facilities while still retaining their own distinct identities.

The fully refurbished campus provides the college with a modern administrative and educational hub, whilst creating efficient and effective teaching accommodation for the university.

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Charles McQuilkin of Archial Architects said: "The overall estates strategy for Scottish Borders Campus is based on a hub and spoke model with the main centre being located in Galashiels through a co-location agreement between Borders College and Heriot-Watt University.

"The building sits right down in the valley next to the River Gala, alongside Gala Rugby Football Club, and is the most visible location within the town. This project has now served as a catalyst for upgrading the surrounding environment to enhance the overall attractiveness of Galashiels."

Delivered in a series of phased completion over a 15 month period, the first activity was to consolidate and condense Heriot-Watt's activities into parts of the building, which allowed the form to address the rest of the building and undertake the major works required to facilitate the relocation.

In addition to completely overhauling and refurbishing the existing 1960s single storey building, Archial has designed two large extensions to act as the entrance to the building, which will accommodate around 1500 students overall.

The completion of the Scottish Borders Campus follows the opening in March by First Minister Alex Salmond MP MSP of the Archial designed £4.2m Borders College Hawick Community College.

(GK/JM)