The Wolfson Medical School Building at the University of Glasgow is to be opened by HRH The Princess Royal at 3.30pm on Thursday 3 April

The University of Glasgow Medical School is one of the largest in Europe and produces more than 200 doctors each year. Since its seventeenth century beginnings, the Medical School has been at the forefront of education and research. It is respected internationally as a provider of first class education at the cutting edge of the discipline.

In 1998, the University launched an appeal to raise £11 million towards the total £17.5 million necessary to construct the new building to provide unrivalled, purpose-built facilities to support the new curriculum and to provide a home on campus for Glasgow's Medical School.

Named to mark the major gift from the Wolfson Foundation, The Wolfson Medical School Building originates from competition-winning design proposals by Reiach and Hall Architects. It was developed through close consultation with the building's users. The fundamental architectural concept is of three articulated blocks housing teaching and learning facilities, arranged around a triangular atrium which is conceived as the social heart of the School. 16m long structural glass beams - believed to be the first ever use of glass engineering at this scale - support the sheer glass atrium roof.

In use since October 2002, this is the first completed building on the 'Triangle of Excellence' site which will be completed with the construction of the BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre and the Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre.

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First published: 3 April 2003