A state-of-the-art learning and teaching venue for the city of Glasgow

The £90.6 million James McCune Smith Learning Hub was opened in April 2021. It provides a state-of-the-art learning and teaching facility with the capacity of more than 2,500 students, The Hub delivers a high-quality conference venue on campus which will have significant benefits for the economy of the city of Glasgow. 

This flagship development provides a creative environment, combining flexible study and social learning space with multi-styled and technology-enabled teaching. 

This state-of-the-art building is named after American Physician James McCune Smith, who was born into slavery in New York and set free by the Emancipation Act but struggled to gain entry to American universities. After travelling to the UK, he was admitted to the University of Glasgow and became the first African American to hold a medical degree, finishing top of his class in 1837. 

The building's unique design mixed concrete and steel frames, with over 2000 pieces of steel to form a conical-shaped teaching nest at the heart of the structure which houses the main lectures. The teaching spaces themselves were inspired from exemplar schemes as far afield as Australia. The design has been designed and driven by user consultation at every level, emphasising the student experience to provide an environment that is open and accessible for all. 

Exciting and flexible spaces made up by a number of zones create different learning settings which was achieved by using a simple palette of materials creating a "Scandi industrial" vibe. Colour accents were taken from the Glasgow sky, the colours reflecting the unique light particular to the west of Scotland, burnt oranges, yellows, and blue hues allowing a 'sense of place' to be created.