Tinbergen building demolition work completed

Its replacement, provisionally named the Life and Mind Building, will be the largest building project the University has ever undertaken. It will create a world-class centre for life and mind sciences and be a new home for the Departments of Experimental Psychology and Biology – combining the existing departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology.

Situated between Oxford’s listed University Parks, the Science Area and its historic town centre, the building will transform the relationships between the psychological and biological sciences by enabling co-location and promoting collaboration in emergent fields.

The University aims to have the building opened by September 2024.

The design of the new building aims to enhance the quality and opportunities of the surrounding area while relating to Oxford’s historic and protected skyline and context.

The new building will have at ground floor level, the main entrance, reception, a cafe, study spaces, and exhibition and engagement zones animate the frontages facing the public plaza and St Cross Road. A Herbarium housing valuable collections of plants will be accessible by prior arrangement and exhibit items of its collection.

Teaching facilities will be located in a lower ground/basement area, accessed via a sunken courtyard – to allow students to enter and exit the building at peak time without congesting the main entrance at ground level.

The upper floors of the building will be for research staff and their activities.