Archial Architects has gone underground with a design for a new £10.5m pioneering world-class centre for veterinary medicine situated at the entrance to the grounds of the Garscube Estate, Glasgow.

Part of the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the new Small Animal Hospital provides state of the art services for animal owners and referring practitioners throughout Scotland and Northern England, including the most advanced diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical techniques.

Russell Baxter of Archial Architects said: "One of our chief concerns when conceiving the design for this facility was how to create a large hospital building without ruining the beautiful green space for which the Garscube Estate is renowned. Essentially, our solution involved lifting up the ground, peeling off the grass and placing the new building underneath.

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"Since various aspects of the new facility did not require natural light - much of its 4,500 sq m involves internal spaces such as the treatment area, oncology and diagnostics - this design solution was able to meet the needs of the hospital whilst maintaining the integrity of the location. In order to let daylight in to public areas, an innovative 'crystal' glass cupola, lit with different colours at night, sits within the building's sloping grass roof."

Whilst the innovative design affords medical staff unrestricted views out over the grassy bank, the building’s public space comprises a waiting area, reception island and café beneath the glass cupola where staff and visitors can see out onto the roof. Behind this public space is a social space with access out onto the grass roof, which anyone can walk across.

The natural look of the new Small Animal Hospital is completed with a stone-filled gabion baskets, lending the building a deliberately solid and heavy base, emphasising the driving idea of roof and ground.

The Archial Group Plc employs around 200 staff in Scotland, operating from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness.

(GK/JM)