Strathclyde University Building, Scotland : Information

Start on Site at Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences Construction of the Sheppard Robson designed £35m Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at The University of Strathclyde has started on site. This will link to the Robertson Wing of the Arbuthnott Building, thus allowing co-location of the research and teaching activities of the Institute. The design, by Sheppard Robson, is for a purpose-built centre which will bring the multi-faceted disciplines of the Institute together under one roof. The building will be central to the Institute’s aims of delivering speedier, more efficient drug discovery in a pioneering, world-class centre for research and development. Sited on Cathedral Street in Glasgow, the 8,000m2 building is the gateway to the University campus and city centre from the motorway. It responds to the wider redevelopment proposals of Strathclyde University with the creation of a new public space on the north east corner defining the entrance to the Institute, and linking it to university campus sites to the north. At ground level a triple height facade encloses the social learning space and entrance reception which lead to the street. Undergraduate resources are located over the first three levels, surrounding the open suspended staircase, and are designed to encourage staff and student interaction. They include a 160-capacity teaching laboratory, interactive write-up spaces and a sterile procedures laboratory, for the handling and packaging of drugs. Strathclyde is one of just three universities which has this sterile-suite teaching capacity. The upper three levels provide flexible accommodation which include general and specialised research laboratories, write-up space and offices. There are glazed link-bridges connecting to the adjoining existing Robertson Wing of the Arbuthnott Building. Tony O’Brien, design director for the project, said: “The building design reflects the Institute’s purpose of close collaboration between scientific disciplines. To this end, we analysed working practices to develop facilities which could be flexible for shared use and future expansion." The building is designed to achieve a ‘very good’ rating under BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). Completion is expected in late 2010, with an official opening scheduled for early the following year. Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences - Design team Client: University of Strathclyde Architects: Sheppard Robson Structural and Services Engineers: Buro Happold Quantity Surveyor: Doig and Smith Project Manager: Heery International Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences architects University of Strathclyde John Arbuthnott Building University of Strathclyde Graduate Business School Strathclyde Business Park Caledonian University buildings Strathclyde University