The £60m building complex will be created from the refurbishment of an existing adjacent genome building and a connected new building on the site of a car park.

Work is expected to get underway at the start of 2018 with the aim of opening the complex at the start of the 2020 term.

Designed by Hawkins Brown Architects, the new complex will remain true to the vision of the University’s founding architect, Sir Basil Spence, and will include the distinctive use of glass, concrete and brick that the institution is known for.

Set over five floors, the new development, which will be built using the very latest sustainable materials, will include collaborative spaces for staff and students to work in; encouraging molecular biologists, zoologists, neuroscientists, and chemists to carry out research alongside each other to develop new scientific insight.

Modern laboratories will also provide high-tech teaching spaces for students.

The development of the Life Sciences building is part of the University’s overall Campus Masterplan, which was approved by Brighton & Hove City Council in 2015.

Inside the proposed Life Sciences building