We got a sneak peek inside the new Guild

A few weeks ago, a ‘golden ticket’ dropped into the Editor’s inbox.

It wasn’t a free pass into a fantastical chocolate factory, but something much better – an invitation to look round the new Guild, months before the rest of you plebs.

So we rolled up to University Square, and were led inside by SROs Leigh-Angel Bevan and James Coe – but not before we’d donned a fetching hard hat and hi-vis vest combo. I wore mine to town that evening and pulled 50 birds.

They’ll all be wearing this in a few months

As these pictures show, it’s still taking shape – it’s hard to get an impression of how the finished product will look when a lot of the rooms are still identical shells.

But still, it’s coming along, and the new Guild as a building site is already looking better than the old one.

The courtyard of old is being given a much-needed spruce up. It’s such a big, light space, but in the old Guild, it always seemed a bit dim and peeling.

How the new courtyard will look, hopefully without the terrifying ghosts

The new one already looks loads better, and boasts a really long bar running down one side – perfect for the whole host of events that the Guild hasn’t been able to accommodate during its time at Abercromby Square.

The unfinished bar

Also due for a big change is the old Saro Wiwa – now home to the much more pronounceable Sphinx Bar, which is set to look very plush indeed, and will be bookable by societies for events.

It doesn’t look like much now…

The Saro Wiwa was a popular hangout back in the day, so hopefully the new Sphinx bar will continue its legacy and become the place for students to get tipsy in the middle of the day and eat curly fries.

…but in a few months it’ll look like this.

Just off the courtyard is a new walkway, stretching from the main entrance on Guild Walk to where the bank used to be on Mount Pleasant. At the sides of the long corridor will be society ‘pods’, dedicated spaces for societies to do their thing.

A society ‘pod’ takes shape on the right

Most impressive is the Mountford Hall, which will be restored to its former glory, and will once again play host to gigs, parties and everything in between – beginning with the Summer Ball on May 30, the new Guild’s first official event. The bar you see on the right side of the picture is the other side of the Courtyard bar, giving the Guild a very open-plan feel – much different to the cramped and confused space of the old one.

SROs James Coe and Leigh-Angel Bevan survey the Mountford Hall

Most importantly, they’ve kept the massive mirrored wall by the Guild entrance – by far the best place to check yourself out on a campus with disappointingly few full-length mirrors.

Lookin’ good, James Coe

Obviously there’s far too much of the Guild to show in a single article – after all, it’s one of the biggest student’s unions in Europe. But although it doesn’t look like much now, it’s going to be transformed in the next few months, and hopefully Liverpool students will soon have a decent Guild building, finally.

As long as they don’t get rid of this little guy I’m happy.

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