WORK at a new £200 million University of Oxford building is set to begin next year.

The ‘Life and Mind Building’ will be the largest building project ever undertaken on behalf of the university.

It will replace the Tinbergen building in South Parks Road, and serve as a home for the Zoology, Plant Sciences and Experimental Psychology departments.

The Tinbergen building closed in February 2017, after asbestos was discovered.

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Funding for the building, which will become the university’s largest teaching and research facility, has come from Legal & General, an insurance and asset management group with over £1 trillion in assets.

Legal & General entered into a £4 billion partnership with the university in June of last year, forming Oxford University Development to provide homes for students and staff.

The new building is set to open in 2024, with laboratories for students and researchers, as well as lecture theatres, and specialised support laboratories.

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Professor Louise Richardson, vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, said: “The University of Oxford is delighted to be working in partnership with Legal & General to deliver a landmark Life and Mind building that will transform the relationship between the biological and psychological sciences. 

“This fabulous building will provide innovative facilities for teaching and research, which will enable Oxford to train a new generation of scientists who in turn will help us to address critical global challenges.”

Demolition of the existing Tinbergen building is due to be completed by the end of the month, with construction beginning next July.

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The new building will also provide opportunities for art, exhibitions, lectures and conferences.

Nigel Wilson, chief executive at Legal & General, added: “The Life and Mind building will provide students with a modern, state-of-the-art facility that helps continue the University of Oxford’s legacy as one of the world’s most pre-eminent teaching institutions.

“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the University of Oxford, which in the wake of Covid-19 will help retain talent in the city, whilst driving essential inward investment and providing opportunities for world-leading innovation as well as much needed housing for key workers.”