And the winner is… Ali G! Our fave building crowned in Guardian awards

Everyone’s favourite UoM building has gone and scooped a prize in The Guardian’s 2014 university awards.

Don’t pretend you don’t love it

The Alan Gilbert building won the ‘Facilities project’ award, in an announcement made on Thursday morning.

It honours our glorious glass palace for having “enhanced the student/staff experience on campus”, with its 24 hour services and a design that students suggested ideas for.

“Student involvement, from start to finish, has produced a building that really meets their needs,” said Jan Wilkinson, the uni’s librarian.

It’s a favourite place to get stressed out

Manchester thrashed  Staffordshire and Birmingham City unis, who also had buildings shortlisted for the award.

“It’s like a cross between a library and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – I want to live here”, said one very excited student on seeing it.

Not bad for a snooze either

It hasn’t been a completely smooth ride for the £24 million learning commons though.

A couple of weeks after it was first opened, in October 2012, a glass pane shattered inside it, closing it down for several months. At the time many speculated that the whole building was structurally unsafe but it has since made an impressive comeback.

It also topped The Tab’s list of our favourite places to nap on campus.

And we all know how hard it is to find a free computer – rumour has it people wait in there for up to three days just to get one.