Your changing campus

Staff and students returning to the University after the summer recess will have found the landscape of the campus has continued to evolve, with several new buildings and other major projects either finished or nearing completion.

The ongoing programme of development - which had already seen the creation of the Queen Mother Building, the Sir James Black Centre and new residences in recent years - has continued apace over the past few months.

The major changes, including the arrival of staff and students previously sited at Gardyne Road, promises to make the city campus even more vibrant for both work and leisure, with a real buzz throughout the day.

Gordon Davies, Head of Estates, said he believed the new developments would bring real benefits to staff and students.

"The combination of top class teaching, research and leisure facilities promise to make the campus even more vibrant and attractive to all who work and study here," he said.

Here are some of the new buildings and developments you will notice around the campus this autumn:

New Teaching Facility
This new building, opened by Her Majesty The Queen on 2 July, is now fully operational, and ready to welcome up to 3000 people every day. The building provides three large lecture theatres, which can all be linked electronically, and a wide range of specialist teaching facilities. Designed by Edinburgh-based architects Campbell and Arnott the building also enjoys energy efficient heating and integral landscaped areas. Hopes are high the landmark structure may follow the Queen Mother Building's success in achieving national recognition for its design.

University Library
A large extension to the University Library is nearing completion. It will provide accommodation for e-learning facilities, staff offices and spacious new foyer, and dramatically alters the external appearance of the building.

Institute for Sport and Exercise (ISE)
Also coming on stream early in the new Academic Year will be an extension to the Sports Centre providing new squash courts, gymnasium with state-of-the-art equipment and fitness studio. The squash courts will be at the top of the building, unlike most others which are hidden in the basement, giving the building a stunning appearance. The work will also make the building more accessible for people with a disability.

Old Medical School/Carnelly Building/MSI
These buildings, which lie just to the rear of the Tower Building, been given a complete refurbishment to provide a new Life Sciences Teaching Unit. Part of the building, together with the refurbished Old Technical Institute (OTI), provides accommodation for the School of Education, Social Work and Community Education, which has moved from Gardyne Road. The renewed flow of students into this area will create a new atmosphere right in the heart of the campus. At the Medical Sciences Institute, which adjoins the Wellcome Trust Building at the north-west corner of the campus, , two floors have been given an internal fit out to provide new research facilities for Life Sciences.