Show/Hide navigation
University of Reading

Health & Life Sciences Building to unite School of Biological Sciences

Monday, 25 July 2016

Health Life Sciences

Concept image of new Health & Life Sciences Building

Following the announcement last week on our 2026: TRANSFORM programme, we wanted to provide further details about our plans for a new Health & Life Sciences facility. 

The University will be investing approximately £55 million into the reconfiguration of our Health and Life Sciences teaching zone, which will see the School of Biological Sciences consolidated into a brand new facility.

At present, the School of Biological Sciences is hosted in 6 buildings widely distributed across Whiteknights campus. By uniting the School we will be able to make more efficient use of space and resources, which will make it easier for staff to facilitate research interactions across the School. 

Life Sciences has been identified as a key area for growth within the University. For example, student uptake for the School of Biological Sciences has doubled over recent years, which has created a need for better teaching and learning facilities. 

Key features of the building include:  

  • a range of teaching laboratories and seminar rooms
  • a bioresources unit (BRU) 
  • research laboratories and write-up areas
  • offices and open plan areas for staff
  • new café 

The Engineering Building will be demolished so that the new building can occupy the site. Once the new building is operational, the AMS Tower, Knight Building and Harborne Building will be in turn demolished. As a result, the new building will become the new home of the Cole Museum of Zoology. 

The new building will also house a state of the art Bioresource Facility, where biomedical research which requires the regulated use of animals can take place under the highest standards. For more details of our research read our recent news story or visit the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research.

Academics and researchers within the School of Biological Sciences teach and conduct research on some of the world’s most pressing problems, from health (heart disease, cancer, genetic and microbial diseases) to the environment (conservation biology, climate change, adaptation and evolution). The new building will provide the facilities that allow staff in the School of Biological Sciences to move to the forefront of answering these challenges.

In preparation of construction of the new building, a programme of early works is due to begin later this summer, subject to planning permission. Main construction is anticipated to begin Q2 2017, aiming for occupation by Q3 2019.