University of Glasgow Opens Advanced Research Centre

The University of Glasgow opened the £118 million Advanced Research Centre in January of 2022 in the United Kingdom. Designed by HOK, the 172,000-sf facility accommodates leading-edge research programs at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, chemistry, physics, social sciences, and the arts. Clad in varied terracotta panels and fins set in a cast stone frame, the interdisciplinary building houses flexible wet and dry labs, write-up areas, formal and informal collaboration spaces, and an entrepreneurship center to promote industry partnerships. A public route with a glass façade moves through the structure on the ground floor, offering transparent views of the innovative activities occurring within. 

Illuminated by natural light, the ARC features a large central atrium with a café. A multipurpose engagement venue incorporates exhibition areas, a customized space for virtual and augmented reality technologies, and seminar rooms that are available to the entire university community. Multiplex began construction in November of 2018 on the four-story facility, which includes a rooftop mechanical plant. WSP provided engineering services with Ironside Farrar as planning consultant. The project is part of a major expansion of the Gilmorehill campus masterplanned by AECOM and 7N Architects.