University of Oklahoma Constructs Life Sciences Laboratories Building

The University of Oklahoma (OU) is constructing the Life Sciences Laboratories Building in Norman to expand its research capacity while addressing a crucial need for teaching labs tailored to the evolving demands of biology and chemistry education. Designed by CannonDesign and Miles Architecture, the $100 million project will provide 25 modern lab classrooms and a 250-seat lecture hall on the ground floor, with approximately 80,000 sf of the 105,000-sf structure dedicated to undergraduate learning. On the upper two stories, leading-edge biomedical labs spanning 20,000 sf will enable faculty from the School of Biological Sciences to engage in collaborative discovery. This dynamic hub will serve as a potent recruiting tool that will power tomorrow’s workforce, particularly for the future nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals who will take foundational courses in the building. Integrating a range of vibration-mitigation strategies to protect sensitive instrumentation, the flexible facility is envisioned as a place where innovation and progress thrive for decades to come.

As a cornerstone of OU’s Lead On, University strategic plan, the project will consolidate 17 undergraduate lab spaces previously dispersed in seven separate locations. Flintco is acting as general contractor with Alvine as MEP engineer, Smith Roberts Baldischwiler as civil engineer, ZFI Engineering Co. as structural engineer, and HFSD as landscape architect. The Oklahoma State Legislature allocated $80 million to the development in 2024, and the biomedical research component was funded by an anonymous private donation of $20 million. Ground was broken in October of 2025 and completion is expected in 2027.