Alan Gilbert Learning Commons

The Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, due to open at the beginning of the 2012/13 academic year, is a collaboration between partners across the University of Manchester including the Directorate of Estates, Directorate of Teaching and Learning, IT Services and The John Rylands University Library; in consultation with representatives from the Students Union.

Managed by the John Rylands University Library, the Learning Commons will be open 24/4 and feature a whole host of cutting edge technology.

There will be up to 1,000 open plan study spaces with a mixture of individual and flexible study spaces, including bookable rooms for group work.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• University of Manchester
• Learning Commons
• Alan Gilbert Learning Commons
• Student

[nbafreak654321]

How many study rooms will there be?

[AGLC2012]

@d1mach @TheAlby21 don't worry there will be covered bike storage next to the JRUL entrance and to the rear of the SU in time for the building opening.

[AGLC2012]

@PrincessAna07 Thank you for your comment we are currently looking at different options for the "multimedia screens" - these won't be everywhere - they are placed at points of need. Some are intended to be used for group work and others are interactive screens where you may do something like book a group room or see where a computer is free. I will certainly pass on your comments about ensuring we don't distract anyone trying to work.

[TheAlby21]

GOD I HOPE THERE WILL BE RAILING TO ATTACH MY BIKE!!!!

[d1mach]

Will there be railings to attach a bike?

[d1mach]

This is built at the location of the demolished Moberly Hall. At least there was a room with a pool table and now the students get only flexible open workspaces.

[PrincessAna07]

What on earth are all the "multimedia screens" for? They seem to be recessed in the walls of workspaces, which looks awfully distracting to anyone trying to work.

[AGLC2012]

@humej1 In the fly-thru you will see an example of the recycling stations being put into the Learning Commons – these have a much greater capacity than those in the main library and we are currently trialing them at Joule library to check that they answer the demands put on them.

[AGLC2012]

@humej1 The fixtures and fittings in the building have been carefully selected to help with noise control, the atrium should not echo or carry noise. We have also carefully thought about where different zones should be located in the space – considering issues such as noise overlap and movement around the building. Once the Learning Commons is open we will continually monitor how successful the different areas are and we have purposefully built in flexibility to change these if required.

[AGLC2012]

@humej1 Thank you for your comments and suggestions – we certainly considered both of these issues when designing the Learning Commons.