Building to house researchers studying links between natural and artificial intelligence
A £200m teaching and research facility designed by NBBJ has opened in the heart of Oxford.
Funded and developed by Legal & General, the Life and Mind building is one of the largest single construction projects in the history of the University of Oxford.
It provides a new home for both the Departments of Biology and Experimental Psychology and the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research, as well as for the University’s botanical collections comprising approximately one million specimens.
Opened for the 2025/26 academic year, the building contains 269,000sq ft of research and teaching space for more than 1,400 scientists, academics, support staff and postgraduate students.
It will also become the main teaching location for around 1,000 undergraduate students with new lecture halls and teaching spaces.
The building has been designed for advanced research into fields including the links between natural and artificial intelligence, what it means to be human and the ways that humans, animals and even plants think and interact.
The work aims to provide a better understanding of how natural intelligence works and how it can inspire better and more adaptable AI systems.
By examining how organic brains process complex information in natural settings, how individuals interact in groups, and modelling these processes with advanced technology, researchers at the facility hope to design AI that is more flexible, robust, and useful in everyday situations.
These insights could transform areas such as healthcare, environmental conservation, robotics, and even new forms of biology, according to the university.
New research facilities in the building include sleep labs, a virtual reality and motor lab, experimental classrooms, multisensory labs, rooftop glasshouses, licensed facilities for advanced plant science and controlled-environment laboratories.
Oxford University vice chancellor Irene Tracey said the opening of the building was a “wonderful milestone” for Oxford.
“The Life and Mind building isn’t just a world-class facility – it’s a place designed to bring people together. By uniting biologists and experimental psychologists under one roof, it will spark fresh ideas, foster collaboration, and help us tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our world,” Tracey said.
The building has been delivered through the Oxford University Development partnership, a £4 billion joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General delivering academic and research facilities, housing and associated infrastructure.
The project team includes main contractor Wates, project manager Arup, cost consultant Arcadis, civil and structural engineer Ramboll, landscape architect Fira, building services engineer Hoare Lea and planning consultant Savills.
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