Royal College Building (Glasgow)

United Kingdom / Scotland / Glasgow / George Street, 204
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A great Glasgow landmark, and where the story of Strathclyde University started. The original Anderson's College (dating back to 1796) used to stand on this site, before its evolution into the Royal Technical College, and ultimately the Royal College of Science and Technology and the University of Strathclyde in 1964. Many older Glaswegians still call it "The Tech" - this nickname has still stuck in a derogatory sense for students and alumini of the University of Glasgow towards Strathclyde.......

The closest thing Strathclyde gets to a centrepiece building - this massive complex dates back to 1912 - the foundation stone (visible at the corner of George Street and Montrose Street) was laid in 1903, but it took almost a decade to finish. Today it houses a collection of academic departments - Electrical Engineeering, and the various Biology and pharmaceutical-related departments occupy the lion's share. The latter has been steadily moved over to the burgeoning SIBS complex over the years, the ultimate aim being to redevelop the Royal College to consolidate the Uni in a smaller number of buildings.

As for the rest, it is a mish mash of lecture and seminar rooms scattered all over its seven levels. That's the problem though - over its 100-year existence so many alterations and additions have been made that it has mutated into an unfathomable labyrinth of corridors, secret passageways and hidden staircases.

Controversially, in 2011 the University announced its intention to vacate the Royal College in 2016 - a move which caused more than a ruffling of feathers in Historic Scotland given this is the "original" building of the entire institution. However, as of 2023 this plan remains unfulfilled.
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Coordinates:   55°51'41"N   4°14'46"W

Comments

  • I currently study in the EEE department at Strathclyde and would love to find out more about this building. The main thing that confuses me is why the old floor numbers are 2 less than they are now (level 4 was level 2 going by the engravings in the stone walls!) Also, there are pianos in most of the rooms, does anyone know why this is?
  • It's lost in the mists of time unfortunately, as far as I can tell the lift tower in the centre courtyard was added in 1990, but the floor renumbering happened probably back in the '60s.
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