Senate gets Estate Strategy update
Published: 12 February 2014
Director of Estates and Buildings, Ann Allen, has called on the University to be courageous and innovative as it develops its estate strategy. Her presentation to Senate is available here.
This month's meeting of Senate was given a presentation on the University's Estate Strategy by the Director of Estates and Buildings.
Ann Allen focussed on the Gilmorehill campus but said that Garscube and Dumfries were equally important, as was the University accommodation within the associated NHS units, when it came to what the Estate was able to deliver for the University. She said the University's infrastructure had to be an "enabler". She said: "We want to attract the best researchers and we want to attract the best students. We need to use the estate to enable all of those activities."
She said the current layout of many small buildings at Gilmorehill hampered efficiency and flexibility. The development of the estate would help drive efficiency and this in turn would enhance the University's reputation...people remembered remarkable buildings. Speaking in the Bute Hall, she said the vast, Victorian auditorium provided a unique selling point.
"As we develop new parts of the Campus we should be thinking: how do we develop the estate to enhance our reputation?" Ann Allen
Ann Allen said not only did the University need a vision, but the Campus needed a vision too. The University needed to develop a campus that was fit for today and for the future. It had to be innovative and show courageous design. It also needed to reflect the University's heritage and its ambition in research and teaching and it needed to inspire future generations.
She said: "It is very much about building upon what we have but at the same time not allowing what we have at the moment to contain our ambition.
"In the 1870s, this building was considered very radical. The University authorities chose to bring an English architect up to Glasgow to create all this. There was real courage in our forefathers in being prepared to go with something like this which we now use to impress and inspire people. Innovation is a word we must go on using as we try to develop a much more open campus than we have at the moment.
"We also need our campus in the future to be sustainable both in enviromental terms and also in financial terms. There is no point in creating grand buildings if you cannot afford to use them. And we need our buildings to be accessible and welcoming."
The Director of Estates and Buildings said the Gilmorehill campus would in future spread across a large acreage and the University needed to ensure that it was cohesive and held together well. Visitors would need a clear idea of how they moved through the space and why. The University needed to respect its built heritage but not be contained by it.
A third and final round of engagement with staff, students and other stakeholders on the Campus Development Framework will take place in March and April, with an exhibition open to all in the John McIntyre building / Visitor Centre at the Main Gate. Campus eNews will carry more details in upcoming editions.
First published: 12 February 2014
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