James McCune Smith Learning Hub

The University of Glasgow is undertaking an ambitious expansion programme that will further enhance its global standing and provide a positive impact on the community it serves.  The design of the new learning and teaching hub has been inspired and driven by user consultation at every level, emphasising the student experience to provide an environment that is open and accessible for all. 

The new hub creates a signature gateway building that sits at the heart of a conservation area and provides state of the art learning and teaching facilities for over 2,500 students in a highly sustainably BREEAM Excellent facility.

Its mixture of lecture theatres, small group rooms, breakout and study areas reflects a growing trend in making faculty areas more bespoke and focussing general teaching in a shared learning hub that embraces new teaching pedagogies and optimises space utilisation.

New learning pedagogies were trialled in a series of pilot rooms in an adjacent building which enabled HLM to work with academics to test new approaches such as flipped classrooms and TEAL spaces and define the FF&E and IT needed to support this.  The resultant scheme improves cohesiveness and connectivity across the campus in a building that showcases formal and informal learning and teaching through a welcoming, open environment that encourages students to linger – a sticky campus.