The Tinbergen Building
Designed by Sir Leslie Martin, the Tinbergen Building was the largest teaching and research building in the University, accommodating almost 800 people and providing a base for undergraduate studies in Experimental Psychology, Zoology, Biological Sciences and Biochemistry.
In February 2017, a planned renovation to the Tinbergen Building revealed asbestos containing material that could not be removed safely while the building was occupied, forcing the subsequent closure of the building.
Following on from the building closure and immediate short-term relocation to sites scattered around Oxford, plans were put in place to create a new, medium-term site that could house most EP researchers for at least the next five years. Accordingly, in October 2017 ground was broken on the Walton Street side of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site for what would become the Anna Watts building
While the loss of the Tinbergen Building has had a major impact on the work of the department over the past eighteen months, as our Head, Professor Kia Nobre has commented, it also provides the University with an opportunity to create "a fantastic modern facility that will live up to… the great science that we do in these two departments", and to showcase the importance of the study of neurological, behavioural and biological systems in the 21st century.
Who was Anna Watts?
Our temporary building is named for the woman whose donation of £10,000 enabled William Brown to establish the Oxford Institute of Experimental Psychology in 1936. [Read more...]
As Professor Brown commented at the time, the University owed "an immeasurable debt of gratitude" to Mrs Watts, as her donation gave psychologists - who had previously had little access to laboratory space - a place to conduct empirical studies.