Construction work, led by the Kier Group, has now begun on the site, which is situated in the private working area of
Due for completion in late 2010, the so-called Sainsbury Laboratory will house 120 scientists, supported by more than 30 additional staff.
They will be studying plant development in laboratory facilities designed in consultation with Bob McGhee, a leading American laboratory designer responsible for the design of more than 50 laboratories for the Howard Hughes Foundation.
The building will also provide a home for the University Herbarium, which contains over one million pressed and dried plant specimens from all over the world, including those collected by Charles Darwin on the Beagle voyage.
