Faithful+Gould has been appointed as programme and project manager for the 10-year, £1 billion expansion of the University of Glasgow’s Gilmorehill Campus.

The £1billion masterplan, for the creation of a new campus for the University of Glasgow on the site of the former Western Infirmary, is believed to currently be the biggest procurement project in Britain, with an investment greater than that for the regeneration of Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Faithful+Gould will oversee the provision of six academic buildings, forming a ‘smart campus’ with integrated technology and the development of a new civic square. The Learning and Teaching Hub, Research Hub, Institute of Health and Wellbeing and College of Social Sciences, College of Arts, College of Science and Engineering and Alliance of Chronic Diseases will revolutionise teaching and research at the University.

A combination of flexible and specialist space and interactive hubs, will provide multi-functional support for individual and group learning while facilitating the opportunity to bring leading researchers together with aspiring research teams from the University and industry experts, building on Glasgow’s current world leading reputation.

The campus will provide new, active public spaces including a new civic square and improved pedestrian and cycle links between Byres Road and Kelvingrove Park. Furthermore, the considered masterplan will enliven the area through active frontages and initiatives to deliver vibrancies and a sense of place out with the University’s core hours of operation, integrating with and enhancing the wider West End of Glasgow.

Paul Sherry, director at Faithful+Gould, said: “This is a very exciting project and will be one of the most high profile higher education programmes in Britain over the next decade.

“The University of Glasgow already has a fantastic reputation and this project will enhance that and make sure that it stays at the forefront of research and learning innovation for years to come. It will also set the standard for the future development of universities with its multi-functional learning hubs rather than traditional lecture halls, and the way in which it will be able to interact with industry and the public as well as academics around the globe.”

Faithful+Gould has started procurement of a delivery partner which is expected to be in place early next year. It said the project would be expected to create more than 2,500 new jobs.

The full client project team includes WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff as multi discipline engineering contractor and global architecture firm HLM.