The investment plans will now be subject to formal planning applications to be submitted to Aberdeen City Council by spring 2020.
The plans - part of a wider package of ongoing and proposed campus regeneration projects with a combined cost of almost 拢100m - include a new home for the University of Aberdeen Business School, plus improvements to the university鈥檚 historic core. Central to the investment is an anticipated growth in the university鈥檚 student population over the next 10 years.
The Business School will be relocated from its current home in the MacRobert Building to a new single-site home in the currently dormant Johnston Halls, which will undergo a major refurbishment. The project will include a new pavilion housing teaching and learning facilities, including lecture and seminar space.聽 A large central foyer will provide additional social space, and will be used for exhibitions and public engagement activities.
Plans to enhance facilities in the immediate area of King鈥檚 College include a new atrium, with connections to surrounding buildings that will be repurposed to meet the needs of a growing student population.
The work will see improvements to the interiors of a number of areas of King鈥檚 College, including the Old Senate Wing, Book Stack and Cromwell Tower.
The new Business School is scheduled to open by summer 2022, while the King鈥檚 College improvements are expected to be completed the following summer.
University of Aberdeen principal and vice-chancellor Professor George Boyne said: 鈥淭his major investment in our campus comes at a time when the university is planning for future growth, and marks the latest phase of a number of improvements to our King鈥檚 College campus, including our new Science Teaching Building where work is already under way.
鈥淎s we plan for the future it is crucial that we remain equipped to meet the needs of modern students with contemporary, flexible and technology-ready facilities that regenerate underused space in our historic campus, while maintaining the unique heritage for which it is renowned.
鈥淭hese are transformational plans that will ensure we continue to provide our students and staff with world class teaching and learning facilities, and will help us attract the best and brightest to Aberdeen.
鈥淩evitalisation of our Old Aberdeen campus also helps support wider city ambitions to ensure our region grows in stature as a destination of choice.鈥澛�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
