A Royal Opening

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal has officially opened the Bayes Centre and the Lister Learning and Teaching Centre.

On Tuesday 23rd October, The Princess Royal, who is Chancellor of the University, visited the newly refurbished Lister Learning and Teaching Centre, where she met staff and students. 

The Lister Learning and Teaching Centre project involved redeveloping the existing Lister and Pfizer buildings in order to create a modern, fully accessible learning and teaching facility. A six storey, steel framed, link building was built as part of the refurbishment. The project was carried out over a series of four phases starting in 2017. 

The Princess Royal then officially opened the Bayes Centre, designed by architects Bennetts Associates, which houses 600 researchers, students, and entrepreneurs over five floors. Its architecture, featuring open spaces, a central atrium and open terraces, is intended to foster collaboration among occupants. 

The Bayes Centre is the first of five data-driven innovation hubs being created as part of the recently-announced Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal. 

The Bayes Centre shares a courtyard and walkways with the University’s Informatics Forum – home to some 500 computer scientists – and the Dugald Stewart Building, which houses Edinburgh’s language sciences experts.

The building takes its name from the Reverend Thomas Bayes, who studied logic and theology at the University of Edinburgh from 1719 until 1722.  Construction of the building began in early 2016 and the new occupants moved in summer 2018.   

October 2018