Plans to develop King's College estate are being taken forward under the direction of a newly-formed Programme Board comprising key representatives from across the University.
The King’s College Transformation Programme Board will oversee plans to use bond funding to relocate the Business School to the currently dormant Johnston Central and Johnston Halls site, and deliver teaching and learning spaces in Old Aberdeen across the historic Kings Quarter.
Subject to final approval by University Court, a central tenet of these plans is to embrace modernity in the University estate without compromising its unique heritage.
Two Project Management Groups - one for the Business School and the other for King’s Quarter - will be led by Professor Graeme Nixon and Dr Paula Sweeney respectively. They will report to the overall Programme Board, led by Vice-Principal Alan Speight and comprising relevant Heads of School, with representation from AUSA and other key users.
The formation of the Programme Board brings together work that has taken place to date on both projects, which aim to realise the University’s ambition for future growth through the provision of modern teaching and learning space that enhances the student and staff experience.
Updates on activities and the progress of this work will follow in due course - in the meantime further details of the rationale behind each project can be found below.
Business School Relocation to Johnston Site.
With a significant component of institutional student growth planned via Business, this will provide ownership of a building and facilities that co-locate all staff on one site. It will also house teaching space prioritised for priority use by the Business School. Co-location will enhance both the staff and student experience. An in-depth options appraisal was presented to the original MacRobert Programme Board, and a recommendation was made to CPMC to proceed with the development of the preferred option, which will involve redevelopment of the Johnston Halls and an adjacent new pavilion building.
New high-quality, adaptable, teaching and learning spaces, for multi-disciplinary use at the heart of King’s College.
This project is focused on delivering transformational teaching and learning spaces in Old Aberdeen across the historic Kings Quarter, providing a modern, adaptable, high quality teaching environment suitable for multi-disciplinary use in the delivery of both UG and PGT teaching. This is required to provide increased teaching capacity, required to support objectives for growth, while revitalising historic buildings at the heart of Kings in a transformational way that markedly enhances the student and staff experience.