CONSTRUCTION work is due to start next month on a new £11.5 million research centre for Durham University.

The new Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics will be designed by the architect behind the redevelopment of New York’s World Trade Center.

It will house two research institutes that are world leaders in their field – the Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology (IPPP).

The new centre is a high priority because of the Institutes’ rapid growth and academic success, enabling them to maintain their leading global positions in the decades ahead.

Durham University selected the renowned international architect, Daniel Libeskind, of Studio Daniel Libeskind (SDL), who produced the master plan for Ground Zero, New York, to design the building.

It has been made possible thanks to a donation of £3.35 million from the Ogden Trust, whose chairman is Durham physics alumnus and entrepreneur Sir Peter Ogden, and a further £1.5 million from the Wolfson Foundation.

The new centre will be built next to the University’s Department of Physics on Lower Mountjoy, South Road, Durham.

Work is due to begin on June 8 and the building is expected to be completed by autumn 2016.

Professor Tom Ward, pro-vice-chancellor (education) at Durham University, said: “The university is excited to be embarking upon the next phase of this project to develop an iconic new building that reflects the high international standing of the Institute for Computational Cosmology and the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology.

“The new centre will enable both institutes to remain at the forefront of research as they seek to advance our understanding of particle physics and the structure and evolution of the universe."