LMU campus: new building for Animal Anatomy and Animal Pathology

Enlarge

Today was another milestone in the growth of LMU’s Campus Oberschleissheim. The groundbreaking for the new Animal Anatomy and Animal Pathology building represents another step forward in the expansion of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the north of Munich. These two disciplines will be united under one roof in the new institute building, offering students and scientists modern infrastructure for studying and research. Designed by the Munich-based architectural firm doranth post architekten GmbH, the building will have a floor space of over 6,000 square meters and is due to be completed by the start of 2027. The Bavarian state parliament has approved a budget of 132 million euros for the project.

“The relocation of LMU’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine to Campus Oberschleissheim is continuing apace,” says LMU President Prof. Bernd Huber. “I’m delighted we can lay the foundation stone for another building here today, which will house a major part of veterinary education at LMU. We would like to thank the Free State of Bavaria for its strong backing for this highly promising campus project.”

Bavaria’s State Minister for Science Markus Blume: “Foundation stone for new milestone: The most state-of-the-art campus for veterinary medicine in Europe is being constructed in Oberschleissheim. With the new building for Animal Anatomy and Animal Pathology, we’re bringing together these excellent departments in one place. Working together, learning together, and healing together – this creates brand new possibilities for the largest faculty of veterinary medicine in Germany. The Bavarian government is happy to support LMU as one of our prize horses and the new campus is an important measure in the structural reorganization of the entire university. In total, we’re investing over 430 million euros in the building measures on the campus.”

“After careful planning, construction can begin on a building that will accommodate the description, investigation, and evaluation of animal morphology in all its aspects,” says Prof. Reinhard Straubinger, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at LMU. “The building will provide a new home to future generations of students and efficiently serve the long-term effectiveness of the faculty as a teaching and research facility.”

A unique site for veterinary medicine education and research in Europe is taking shape in Oberschleissheim. As the only faculty of veterinary medicine in southern Germany, the LMU faculty not only trains the veterinarians of tomorrow, but also offers important services for agriculture, zoos, and other animal owners. In addition, the new building considerably strengthens the faculty’s research capabilities.

Important synergies between animal anatomy and animal pathology

Some 150 employees will work in the state-of-the-art building at Campus Oberschleissheim, where the Chair of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology (Prof. Johann Maierl) and the Institute of Veterinary Pathology (Prof. Andreas Parzefall), which are currently housed in 1950s-era premises at Munich’s English Garden, will be brought under one roof.

The proximity of these two disciplines will generate substantial synergies in research and teaching, as both of them employ similar methodologies for examining, assessing, and researching animal bodies. A center of excellence for imaging techniques is to be established and state-of-the-art specialized equipment will be pooled together in “Core Facilities” for shared research use.

The new LMU building gathers together a hefty portion of veterinary education – anatomy in the pre-clinical and pathology in the clinical part of the curriculum. A lecture hall with 360 seats, preparation and dissection rooms, comprehensive exhibition galleries, modern presentation techniques such as plastination and 3D printing, and the incorporation of ultrasound laboratories all facilitate teaching according to the latest standards. In addition, the Animal Pathology facility performs important services for veterinary clinics, farmers, and zoos.

With construction underway on the new building, LMU’s Oberschleissheim campus is progressively taking shape. In addition to the Clinic for Ruminants, the Clinic for Birds, Small Mammals, Reptiles, and Ornamental Fish, the Equine Clinic, and a lecture hall building with cafeteria, which have already been completed, the new microbiology building was inaugurated in 2023. Approvals have also been granted for a further institute building housing four academic chairs and a library as well as a central building with a main cafeteria.