The new building will form part of the vast campus resulting from the merger of the University of Manchester with UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology). It will be one of the first of its kind in the UK and will comprise around 120,000sqft of “Smart Classrooms” – incorporating advanced facilities for iVideo production, video conferencing, gaming and visualisation zones. The building will also house multi-media galleries and the University’s paper and electronic access library resource – and breakout, refreshment and retail areas.