John Anderson Campus
The John Anderson Campus, the main campus of The University of Strathclyde, is in Glasgow, Scotland. The campus is self-contained in its own area which straddles the Townhead and Merchant City districts on the north eastern side of the city centre, while being only minutes from the M8 Motorway, George Square and is located midway between Queen Street Railway Station and High Street station on the North Clyde Line.
History
Early history (pre-1960)
The John Anderson Campus was originally the only site of Strathclyde University, with the Jordanhill Campus becoming incorporated in 1993. It is named after John H. D. Anderson, a former Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, who left instructions in his will with a large bequest to found "a place of useful learning for the good of mankind and the improvement of science". The result was a school for Glasgow, which would teach practical subjects appealing to people normally left out of the collegiate educational system, such as craftsmen and women from the city.Anderson's Institution was established in 1796, renamed Anderson's University in 1828, partially to fulfil Anderson's vision of two universities in the city of Glasgow. In 1877, it was forced to remove the title of 'University' as it lacked a Royal Warrant for the claim, becoming Anderson's College.
Ten years later in 1887 it merged with the Allan Glen's School to become the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College. In 1912, the technical college was renamed the Royal Technical College, and became the Royal College of Science and Technology in 1956. It joined with the Scottish College of Commerce in 1964; later the same year, the merged institution became the University of Strathclyde.
Plans to expand the Royal College buildings had been mooted since the 1930s, and redundant housing on the northern section of John Street and Montrose Street was cleared in 1937 in preparation for this, however the war intervened and the plans were put on hold. Major post-war development of the campus resumed in 1956, when construction of the new Montrose Street block to the rear of the Royal College building began. The James Weir Building, as it would later be named, would house new accommodation for the Mechanical, Chemical and Production Engineering departments. Phase I of the James Weir was completed in 1958. A new students union building on John Street followed in 1959. A new Chemistry block was completed in 1962 in conjunction with Phase II of the James Weir which adjoined onto its eastern end. This completed the "Island Site" of the John Anderson Campus as it is now called.
1960s–1970s: Rapid Development
Following the granting of university status to the Royal College in 1964, the campus grew in size rapidly, with most of the current academic buildings constructed during this period. Plans to redevelop the adjacent Richmond Street site had already begun in 1960 in collaboration with Glasgow Corporation, who had cleared the site of its slum housing. This development would provide a new library and central admin building which opened in 1964. The 13-storey office tower built as part of the same development struggled to find commercial tenants was eventually leased to the University in 1965 and renamed the Livingstone Tower, and would house various social sciences departments.Prior to the 1960s, Balmanno Brae – the area bounded by North Portland Street, High Street, Cathedral Street and George Street had consisted mainly of tenement housing – much of which had deteriorated into slums. Following the 1940s Bruce Report, Townhead was designated a Comprehensive Development Area, the population was rehomed and all of the slums were demolished. The Colville and Architecture buildings were constructed on this space in 1966, followed by the John Anderson Building and Wolfson Centre in 1971 and 1972, respectively. The mid 1970s saw the business school buildings constructed – namely the Stenhouse and William Duncan buildings were completed at this time. The first of the student residences – Birkbeck Court – were constructed between 1972 and 1974.
In 1974, the University reached an agreement with the book publisher William Collins, Sons to acquire its former printing works at the eastern end of Cathedral Street and St James's Road. The University demolished all of the former Collins estate except for three buildings – the Curran Building was a former warehouse that was converted into a home for the Andersonian Library, the Lord Hope Building was an office block that was converted for academic use. One of the former Collins buildings at 181 St James's Road was also retained and is used as a workshop and base for the Estates Management group.
1980s–2000s: The Student Village
No new academic buildings were constructed in the 1980s as newly installed principal Graham Hills concentrated on getting the University's finances back in order. The major developments during this time were the purchase and restoration of both the Ramshorn and Barony churches in 1982 and 1986, respectively and the acquisition of Marland House from British Telecom in 1987. Construction resumed on the student residences at the end of the decade, with Forbes, Murray and Garnett Halls all being constructed in the late 1980s, with James Blyth, Thomas Campbell Courts and Chancellors' Hall being completed between 1990 and 1992.1992 saw the opening of the first new academic building in over a decade with the construction of the Graduate Business School, with the Robertson Trust Wing being completed in 1998, thus allowing the James P. Todd Building on Albion Street to be sold off to private developers.
Throughout the 1990s, the University would slowly redevelop areas of the former Marland House, by now named the Graham Hills Building.
2000– present: Major Redevelopment
Following the closure of the Royal Maternity Hospital on Rottenrow, the University acted quickly to acquire and demolish the old hospital site that lay in the centre of the campus. Demolition began in 2002 and the land was landscaped into a new public park called "Rottenrow Gardens", which opened the year after.In the mid 2000s a major appraisal of the University's estate took place, with a view to consolidating into a smaller number of buildings. The two major off-campus student residences were sold to private developers. Following the merger in 1993 between the University and the former Jordanhill College, plans were made to eventually vacate the former Jordanhill Campus, and relocate the Faculty of Education to the John Anderson Campus. This led to the underused Lord Hope Building being reconfigured for use by Arts and Humanities. The first phase was to substantially redevelop the James Weir Building, freeing up redundant space relocate the Civil Engineering and Architecture departments from the Colville and Architecture Buildings, respectively. This was a controversial move, as the Architecture School was by now a celebrated piece of Brutalist architecture now threatened with demolition. In 2018, it was announced that a new teaching and learning hub will be created from these two buildings, scheduled to open in 2021.
Below is a synopsis of each building, its year of completion, and its current occupier in brackets.
- 1912 Completion of Royal College Building
- 1953 Royal College acquires St Paul's Church
- 1958 James Weir Building Phase I – extended in 1963.
- 1959 Students' Union Building
- 1959 Graham Hills Building
- 1962 Thomas Graham Building
- 1963 James Weir Building Phase II
- 1964 McCance Building
- 1965 Livingstone Tower
- 1967 Architecture Building
- 1967 Colville Building
- 1971 John Anderson Building
- 1972 Wolfson Centre, Phase I of Birkbeck Court residences
- 1973 Collins Building
- 1973 Stenhouse Building
- 1974 Callanish sculpture and landscaped area, Birkbeck Court Phase II
- 1975 University Centre
- 1975 Alexander Turnbull Building – was divested in 2016 into a housing development
- 1976 Todd Centre – Demolished in 2008-9 and replaced by the SIPBS building in 2010.
- 1976 James Weir/Students Union building extension
- 1977 William Duncan Building
- 1980 Curran Building created from former William Collins & Sons warehouse
- 1983 Lord Hope Building
- 1983 Acquisition of St David's Church – Drama School and Strathclyde Theatre Group.
- 1984 Lord Todd restaurant, acquisition of the Barony Hall
- 1987 Acquisition of Marland House from British Telecom
- 1990 Opening of James Blyth and Thomas Campbell student residences
- 1991 Opening of Chancellors' Hall student residences
- 1992 Graduate Business School building opens
- 1997 Opening of James Goold Hall of Residence
- 1998 John Arbuthnott Building
- 2001 Acquisition of the Rottenrow maternity hospital site – demolition of the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital
- 2002 Thomas Graham Building extension completed
- 2004 Rottenrow Gardens Opened
- 2010 Hamnett Wing of the new Strathclyde Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences building on Cathedral Street
- 2014 Strathclyde Institute for Sport opens – replaces the old University Centre building.
- 2015 University of Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre completed
- 2021 Learning and Teaching Building completed
- 2022 Rottenrow, North Portland Street and Richmond Streets are acquired from Glasgow City Council to be pedestrianized and incorporated into Rottenrow Gardens.
Accommodation
The student village is located on the easterly half of the John Anderson Campus. Each accommodation block is named after a scientist or contributor to the University of Strathclyde.
Listed below are all of the accommodations on the campus, who they are named after and some basic information about the occupancy: