Campus life at the University of Aberdeen is set for spectacular change as the new £8million flagship venue, The Hub, prepares for its grand opening next month.
The Hub is a newly-refurbished dining, leisure and social facility, which will cater mainly for the needs of students and will revolutionise the social scene across the King’s College campus.
Plans for the huge-scale renovation of the University’s Central Refectory, as it was formerly known, were unveiled in March 2005. The facility then closed while Robertson Construction transformed the existing building to develop and enhance the catering and social facilities available at the University. The Hub is on schedule to be completed in time for a grand opening in mid-October.
It will house a range of services such as dining facilities catering for up to 450 people, a variety of shops including Subway – one of the world’s biggest sandwich companies; BookEnds – a second hand book store run by the Aberdeen University Students’ Association; Endsleigh Insurance; a general convenience store - shophub; and a hair salon - hairhub. The building will be open from Monday - Saturday from 8:30am to 8:30pm and Sunday from 11am – 4pm.
The new glass-covered entrance, located on Elphinstone Road, will lead to an open foyer area and centralised reception. From here guests can access the main ground floor area and visit the retail focused ‘shoppinghub’, the Student Advice and Support Office or simply attend a meeting in one of The Hub’s meeting rooms.
Also located on the ground floor area, overlooking St Machar Drive, will be the Tiki Internet Café. An ideal place for visitors to relax, the cafe will further underline the University’s commitment to sustainability by selling organic and Fairtrade coffee options. The Hub – a three-storey facility - will also be the new home for the Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA), Joblink and the Student Accommodation Office.
One of the main highlights of the new centre will be the ‘globalhub’, situated on the first floor above the building’s main entrance. With a display of plasma screens showing news headlines from across the world and a range of international newspapers, visitors to the globalhub will be able to relax, catch up on world events whilst meeting fellow students and staff. The central dining area ‘hubgrub’ will also be located on the first floor, where five different food units will offer customers a range of cuisine, from oriental noodles, to Italian pasta and fast food burgers to freshly prepared salads.
Secretary to the University, Steve Cannon, who is overseeing the project, said the opening of The Hub was much anticipated within the University and the wider community. He said: “The Hub is a flagship venue, designed in partnership with the students and staff, providing first class facilities for all members of the University and the local community.”
Stephanie Millar, the University’s Sales and Marketing Manager, said the vision for The Hub design was inspired by modern techniques that she hoped would appeal to students, staff and visitors alike. She said: “The Hub is a major milestone for the University. It demonstrates our commitment to providing top-class facilities benefiting from contemporary design all within the central location of King’s College. The Hub will provide students, staff and local community with quality dining facilities, dynamic social areas and professional meeting points.”
Richard Millar, President of the Aberdeen University Students’ Association, said the opening of The Hub would undoubtedly play a key role in recruiting new students to the University. He said: “The Hub will be an attractive social centrepiece on campus for students. I am glad the University is committed to providing high quality locations for students to socialise.
“One in nine people in Aberdeen are students, and with 13,900 at the University of Aberdeen alone, The Hub is sure to be a popular venue.”
Business Development Director at Robertson Construction, Rob Leslie, believes that students have never had it so good. He added: “It has been a very exciting project to work on and it took some of the Robertson managers back to the days when they were a student.
“Some of us can remember the old refectory and I think it safe to say that this fantastic new facility is a quantum leap forward in terms of meeting the needs of students.”
Plans are now in progress for an official celebrity opening of The Hub, which will take place on Saturday, October 14. Details will be announced shortly.