The campus project, one of the biggest education developments in Scotland, will see an estimated investment of £1 billion over 10 years – higher than the public investment in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It is anticipated that 2,500 jobs will be created during the construction period.

Faithful+Gould has been appointed as programme and project manager overseeing the provision of six academic buildings, forming a ‘smart campus’ with integrated technology and the development of a new civic square.

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

The masterplan for the former Western Infirmary site, which covers 14 acres, includes:

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “Since the University moved to Gilmorehill in 1870, we have developed a number of iconic buildings, including, of course, the Gilbert Scott Building. The facilities we built during the late 19th and early 20th centuries provided a fantastic environment for University of Glasgow researchers, who won seven Nobel prizes and many other accolades. We hope to use the new site as a catalyst to attract and grow the very best academics, to attract the very best students and to ensure that Glasgow continues to be one of the top universities in the world.”

He added: “The first major development will be a Learning and Teaching Hub – situated not on the former Western Infirmary site but on University Avenue. It will provide spaces for 3,000 students at any one time, as well as state-of-the-art facilities, and will allow us to use the latest techniques in pedagogy.”

Councillor Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “I know that the University of Glasgow has been engaging strongly with local community groups and businesses in this part of the city and I hope to see a mutually beneficial relationship grow between ‘town and gown’ as this project develops.

“The University is an important contributor to the economic, social and cultural future of Glasgow. These are ambitious plans to make this area of the West End even more vibrant and I look forward to this site being transformed into one which enhances Glasgow’s international reputation.”

The University moved from High Street to the Gilmorehill site in 1870. It was always envisaged that the development then would be a university and hospital, side by side, so that the hospital could be used for clinical teaching and research.

The University’s Gilbert Scott building was completed partially in 1870 but the hospital did not open until 1874. The original proposal was to situate the hospital on the current site of the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery – then known as Clayslaps – which was owned by the University. Instead, however, the town council swapped land it owned on the Western Infirmary site – Donaldshill – for the Clayslaps land. In 1878, a pre-emption clause was signed stating that if the hospital ever ceased to be a hospital then the University could buy back the site.