Liberec University is building a new teaching complex for 423 million

Liberec - The construction of a new research, development, and teaching complex worth 423 million crowns began today at the Technical University of Liberec. The construction, financed from European and state funds, is the second largest investment in the sixty-year history of the school. The university will acquire not only modern classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories, but also an auditorium for 350 people. A similar space was previously lacking on the campus, said university rector Zdeněk Kůs on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone.
     The design of the new Building G originated from the university's architectural office, with architects Jiří Suchomel and Jiří Janďourek as its authors. The building is designed as a four-story low-energy teaching facility with large lecture halls, laboratories, classrooms, and offices. The total usable area is 9,400 square meters, with a capacity for 1,400 people. The contractor is the Olomouc company GEMO, which won the public competition with a price of 290 million crowns; the original estimate was still 170 million higher.
     Work began at the beginning of September. It was necessary to demolish the original workshops and cut down trees on the site so that construction could begin today. It was also necessary to dismantle the steam pipeline, relocate the hot water pipes, and other networks. Part of the preparation included the construction of a transformer station on Bendlova Street and the laying of foundations. "So far, almost seven million crowns have been spent, and more than 15 million crowns should be spent in November and December," said university spokesperson Jaroslava Kočárková.
     According to the rector, the goal of the project is to create the necessary infrastructure for a Europe-oriented and research-focused university. "It will address our current insufficient classroom capacity, enhance the level of equipment in classrooms and laboratories, thereby improving the conditions for innovation in study programs, which is an essential requirement for maintaining and improving the quality of teaching and scientific work," Kůs said.
     The new spaces will be used by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Science and Humanities, the Faculty of Education, and the Faculty of Mechatronics, Informatics, and Interdisciplinary Studies. The Faculty of Economics will vacate spaces in Building H on Voronežská Street in the city center. The university is expected to take over the completed building at the end of April 2014, with work on the interior furnishings to continue until the end of the year.