The special opening event was hosted by Oxford University's Chancellor, Lord Hague of Richmond, and the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Irene Tracey. It brought together many of the people involved in the delivery of the building over the past six years, including representatives from Legal & General, Oxford University Development, the architecture practice NBBJ, and construction partner, Wates.
The Life and Mind building is one of the largest building projects in the University’s history. It has been funded and developed by Legal & General and delivered through the Oxford University Development (OUD) partnership – a £4 billion joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General.
It is home to the Departments of Biology and Experimental Psychology, as well as the Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI), and offers state-of-the-art research and learning facilities from 'sleep labs' and virtual reality rooms to lecture theatres and experimental classrooms, rooftop glasshouses, controlled environment labs, and a dedicated home for the University’s botanical collections of approximately one million specimens.
Sir Paul Nurse, OM, CH, FRS, who was Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology at Oxford 35 years ago said, 'It is always a pleasure to return to the University, and to mark the official opening of this remarkable new building is particularly special. Science is an endless frontier, and today the biological and brain sciences are at the forefront of that exploration. The discoveries that will emerge from the Life and Mind Building will help answer questions that matter to all of us: what it means to be human, how we can respond to climate change, how we can ensure food security, and how we can tackle the growing challenge of mental ill-health.'