City & Guilds legacy celebrated as building is renamed

More than 100 Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics staff joined alumni and guests for the naming of Imperial's City & Guilds Building. The 18 September 2013 ceremony marked the launch of a major redevelopment programme for what was previously known as the Mechanical Engineering Building on Imperial's South Kensington Campus. The City & Guilds Building, overlooking Exhibition Road, was built in the early 1960s and stands on the site of the former City & Guilds College building, constructed in 1885. It still houses the College's original 19th century bell and clock mechanism. City & Guilds College, founded in 1884 by the City of London Livery Companies, merged with the Royal School of Mines and Royal College of Science to form Imperial College London in 1907. The refurbishment, due for completion in 2017, will provide new study and breakout spaces for students, improve all learning areas, upgrade the research environment, refresh administrative facilities and update the core infrastructure. Specialist facilities will include two new wind tunnels capable of producing 100mph wind speeds for use in research and teaching.