Glasgow University Library property refurbishment, Award, Jacobs Babtie renovation news
University of Glasgow Library
Scottish Educational Building design by William Whitfield, renewed by William Nimmo & Partners Architects
post updated 15 February 2025
Design: Sir William Whitfield – British architect and town planner.
Date built: 1968
University of Glasgow Library – refurbishment and environmental improvement
Annual Institute of Maintenance and Building Management (IMBM) Awards 2007: Best Project
Renewal Architect: William Nimmo & Partners
Glasgow University Library
Cost Consultant: Sense
Contract Administrator + Engineers: Jacobs Babtie
12-storey building
Refurbishment phased over 5 years
Architects involved on the Glasgow University campus over the years include George Gilbert Scott and Basil Spence
Glasgow University Hub : The Hub – refurbishment
Glasgow University Library in Scotland is one of the oldest and largest university libraries in Europe. At the turn of the 21st century, the main library building itself held 1,347,000 catalogued print books, and 53,300 journals.
In total, the university library system including branch libraries now holds approximately 2.5 million books and journals. The University also holds extensive archival material in a separate building, including the Scottish Business Archive.
The current 12-storey building was opened in 1968 and is a prominent landmark in the city’s West End. In 2014, there were over 1.7 million visits made to the library.
Designed by William Whitfield CBE (1920 – 2019), the present 12-storey library was constructed in 1968 and extended in the 1980s and 1990s. It formed the centerpiece of the new campus buildings built across Hillhead during the 1960s.
University of Glasgow Building Designs
photo courtesy of UoG
University of Glasgow Advanced Research Centre
21 Aug 2009
Fraser Building
Date built: 2009
Design: PagePark Architects
photograph © Adrian Welch
Fraser Building
The Victorian grandeur of Glasgow University has been enhanced with a bold, multi-coloured refurbishment at the heart of the historic campus. Founded in 1451 and Britain’s fourth-oldest university, the institution moved in 1870 to Gilmorehill where its Gothic spire, quadrangles and chapels became celebrated architectural landmarks which, like their Oxbridge rivals, have stood the test of time.
Glasgow University buildings – Main Building, Kelvinside:
photo © Harriet Lomholt-Welch
Glasgow University buildings
Sir Alwyn Williams Departmental Computer Science Building
photograph © Paul Zanre
Sir Alwyn Williams Departmental Computer Science Building
Faculty of Arts: Department of Natural Philosophy
Department of Natural Philosophy – Faculty of Arts: Department of Natural Philosophy
University of Glasgow Architect : George Gilbert Scott
Location: northwest Glasgow, Strathclyde, southwest Scotland, United Kingdom
Glasgow School of Art – The Mac at 167 Renfrew Street, designed by Scottish architect Rennie Mackintosh
Institute of Comparative Medicine
picture from architect practice
Institute of Comparative Medicine
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Strathclyde Library Building Designs – key architectural selection in the west of Scotland below:
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Glasgow Building Designs
Contemporary Glasgow Property Designs – recent architectural selection below:
Blue Sky Lounge at Ibrox Stadium
The Hydro
Architect: Foster + Partners
Comments / photos for the University of Glasgow Library Architecture design by Sir William Whitfield ; property renewal by William Nimmo & Partners Architects in Strathclyde, southwest Scotland, United Kingdom, page welcome.
