An artist’s impression of the anatomy suite teaching room. Image, LSI Architects

Work has begun on the construction of specialist anatomy training facilities at the University of East Anglia (UEA).

The two-storey extension to the Edith Cavell Building (ECB), is located adjacent to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and will provide the latest facilities to deliver the highest standards of training.

The anatomy suite is due to be finished in late 2025 and will become operational during 2026, offering 390sq m of teaching space in seminar rooms, an immersive anatomy teaching space, improved preparation areas for staff and students, and associated storage and academic office facilities.

A spokesman at UEA said: “It will offer significantly more space, which is needed for teaching and practical skills development, and will support the recruitment and retention of highly skilled healthcare professionals both regionally and nationally.”

Charles ffrench-Constant, pro vice chancellor in UEA’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, added: “Our anatomy teaching facilities have been at the heart of our healthcare student training for two decades and it’s now wonderful to be able to fully modernise this vital part of our buildings to increase the number of students we can train and provide them with state-of-the-art facilities.”

Replacing the existing suite on campus, the new anatomy suite will be one of the country’s first to meet contemporary standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), following new legislation relating to exposure to formaldehyde.

An external shot of the building.Image, LSI Architects

It will increase teaching and course capacity at undergraduate, postgraduate, and specialist training levels, and provide flexibility to react to technological changes in teaching methods, sitting alongside the immersive training facilities within the ECB.

Stephen Chapman, senior faculty manager for UEA Medicine and Health Sciences, said: “The new anatomy suite will be a worldwide exemplar facility incorporating current best practices.

“Meeting the needs of an expanding NHS requires major increases in student numbers for courses that require experience with the suite, and this development ensures that we can meet that demand and benefit the population of our region.”

The majority of funding for the facility has come through a grant of £4.8m from the Office for Students, with additional contributions drawn from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences through funds ringfenced exclusively for use on capital development projects and the wider university.

The building has been designed by LSI Architects. Peter Durrant, director at LSI, said: “As a design team, we have enjoyed working very closely with the anatomy team and wider UEA stakeholders to design a new facility that will be at the forefront of new ways of teaching.

“We’re very much looking forward to seeing this project come to life over the coming months.”