Updated September 25 - workstation?
The Life Science Building will feature highly technologically advanced facilities with the flexibility to accommodate diverse research and interaction between various disciplines and stakeholders within life sciences.
The building spans a total of 97,500 square meters, with the University of Oslo (UiO) occupying 70 percent and Oslo University Hospital (OUS) occupying 30 percent. It will house academic environments from the Faculty of Medicine (MED), Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN), Faculty of Dentistry (OD), and life sciences departments at UiO, as well as large parts of the Clinic for Laboratory Medicine (KLM) at OUS.
Getting to the Building
By bicycle
There are 191 outdoor bicycle parking spaces under cover.
From 15 December, there will also be indoor bicycle parking with 269 spaces (room 011N003) with a card reader. All card readers can be configured regarding access groups and will be operated by UiO's security and alarm centre.
There will also be a bicycle washing facility
Changing rooms with showers will open in phase 2, from 29 June. You must bring your own lock.
By car
There will be no employee parking at the building, only a few HC parking spaces.
Shared facilities??
The building will have some shared services:
- Information and hosting services
- Event organisation and support
- Cafeteria
- Procurement office, reception, and logistics
- Innovation areas
- Learning centre
- Student basement/pub
- Faculty club
There will be both local storage areas as well as communal storage.
Office spaces
The building will consist of 80 percent open-plan offices and 20 percent offices. For UiO, this means 131 cellular offices and 668 open-plan office spaces.?
The workstations
- Employees will receive height-adjustable desks. The offices will not be lockable, but all UiO areas will have lockable cabinets that use the access card.
- The desks in shared areas are equipped with two double power sockets in the desktop and a conduit for two network cables. Power is supplied locally from the wall trunking to each desk. In cellular offices, there are six power sockets (the office is designed for two workstations). For ICT, there is one outlet per workstation.
- Standard workstations measure 160 x 80 cm, and master's workstations will be 140 x 80 cm.
- Three varieties of office chairs will be provided, including an ergonomic option.
- In the office landscapes, sound-absorbing desk screens will also be supplied.
Kitchen Areas
All office quadrants have kitchen areas with kitchen fittings (crockery, cutlery, etc.), refrigerator, sink, coffee maker, and seating for 12-24 people.
A central part of the interior design strategy is reuse, and many used items of furniture will be integrated into the shared areas. This includes furniture in the kitchen areas and armchairs and sofas in break rooms
Quiet rooms and meeting rooms
Most office quadrants will have 9 silent rooms and 1-2 meeting rooms accommodating 8-12 people. There will also be open, informal meeting places near the kitchen areas.
Meeting rooms with access from shared areas can be booked. We are working to have this ready from mid-April. In addition, there are other meeting rooms that cannot be booked.
Laboratories and equipment
We have core and shared facilities.?The building's infrastructure is intended to be shared. Access to laboratories is planned to be managed via a booking system, with the premise that all users will have equal access.?In several places, institutes share labs within the building. Additionally, it is natural for some equipment to be available to everyone.
An overview of core facilities and their placements in the building will be available. These are planned to be operational in summer/autumn 2026. A core facility is a heavily equipped special laboratory serving researchers both within and outside the immediate environment.
Reception
There will be a shared reception area for the entire building, intended as the first point of contact. A dedicated implementation group (IG 9.1) is working on how the information point will function.
Cafeteria
There will be no food service before the cafeteria is in operation, so you must bring your own food. House rules will be established, and there will be some supervision from the shared services (house hosts). Social zones are located in the common area, Allmenningen and are available to everyone.
The cafeteria will be located on the first floor in connection with the Allmenningen. It is expected to be completed by the third move phase, between 5 January and 25 February 2027. However, it is uncertain if the canteen will be ready to open in 2027.
Studentsamskipnaden SiO will operate the cafeteria.
Universal Design
The building, office spaces, and laboratories are universally designed. Statsbygg will register the building in “Bygg for alle”, an overview of universal design in buildings. This is openly accessible to everyone.
The building is universally designed in accordance with TEK 10 standards. This means, among other things, that there are guiding lines for the visually impaired, wheelchair ramps, and accessible seating in the auditoriums. However, some laboratories may be difficult to access due to high equipment density.
Downloads
- Presentation from architects Hille Melbye (ppt) (731 MB, May 2023)
- Floor plans (pdf)?(10,5 MB, from 2023)
- Furniture concept: Overview presentation?(pdf - Norwegian only, September 2025)
- Detailed presentation of the furniture concept?(pdf - Norwegian only, September 2025)
In the floor plans, you can see the locations of lecture rooms, laboratories, infrastructure, research facilities, shared functions, offices, and meeting rooms.
In the video below, you can see what the building will look like both outside and inside, with modern laboratories, office spaces, auditoriums, and common areas.
In the video below, you can view the office areas and social zones.
More information to come?
More information about everyday life in the Life Science Building will be provided when ready.