Builders are starting to construct the natural science center of the Ústí university

Ústí nad Labem - At the campus of the J. E. Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, builders have taken over the area where they will construct the Center for Natural Science and Technical Fields. This will be the largest building of the university so far, costing 700 million korunas. The building must be completed by the end of 2019. The university spokesperson Jana Kasaničová informed this to ČTK today.

The building will primarily serve the Faculty of Science. It will be constructed jointly by Metrostav and KLEMENT, with whom Rector Martin Balej signed a contract for the work. "This signature is extremely important for the university and can be considered a historical milestone. We have been waiting for it for six years," the rector stated.

According to the winning architectural design by Pelčák and Partners Architects, represented by architect Petr Pelčák, the building will have a usable area of 17,619 square meters. "The new building will be used by approximately 1,400 students, 120 academics, and 65 technical staff," Kasaničová said. Laboratories will also be available to students from the Faculty of Environmental Studies and other academics and students. "A specific requirement for the project was, for example, eight special research laboratories for polytechnic fields and also 230 parking spots," the spokesperson added.

The funding for the construction is provided by the Ministry of Education, with part of it being covered by the university. The government included the plan among the anticipated investments of the Ministry of Education back in 2011, then estimating the costs at 550 million korunas. "During the work on the project documentation, the situation in the construction market changed significantly, and the difference between the designer's budget price and the subsequent bid prices from potential construction suppliers was striking," said Leoš Nergl, the bursar of the university in Ústí.

The university received three bids, the lowest being for 700 million korunas. The Ministry of Education subsequently approved an increase in state funding, and the university increased its financial contribution.

The university campus is gradually being created on the site of the former hospital complex. The Center for Natural Science and Technical Studies will be located on the site of the former maternity hospital. Some local historians and architects protested against its demolition. The original project, completed in 1937, was the work of Ústí architects F. J. Arnold and E. Krob. At that time, the university argued that the layout of the building did not meet the needs of teaching and the development of science and research.