In the new building of Olomouc's natural sciences, water is leaking and freezing

Olomouc - Doors that can only be used during a fire, air conditioning that activates when windows are opened, water leaking through the roof, or freezing in the pipes. This is the reality faced by students and faculty at the new building of the Faculty of Science at Palacký University in Olomouc, which cost over a billion crowns to construct. Although many defects bring a smile to one's face, the faculty's management must undergo lengthy negotiations regarding warranties or remove them at their own expense, said Dean Juraj Ševčík to ČTK and MF Dnes today.
    The construction of the building began in 2006 and required a total investment of 1.08 billion crowns. It is the largest investment project in the history of Olomouc University. Students have been using it since the second semester, but individual departments moved in last June. The construction involved not only the consortium of construction companies Hochtief CZ and Tchas but also 80 subcontractors, with around 1,550 employees working on it. And this may be one reason for the existing complications.
    "Some defects have been here from the beginning, while others we discovered over time. We are dealing with warranty claims, but the responses are sluggish. The work was done by one of the subcontractors for the winning company, and it takes a lot of time to reach them. The company may have even gone out of business. Unfortunately, the golden Czech hands are now gone," Ševčík mentioned.
    The secretary of Hochtief CZ, Michal Talián, stated that with such a large and technologically demanding building, defects cannot be ruled out even after a longer period following its handover. "For this reason, the project is subject to a warranty period of 72 months. If the client properly claims any defect based on the concluded work contract, we are obliged to respond to the claim for the entire duration of the warranty." Talián stated.
    In the building, for example, one of the elevators has not been working for several months, the roof has leaked multiple times, and water has also disrupted the telephone exchange or activated fire alarms. In other places, water has gotten into the lighting and is supposed to be drained by a plastic hose. "Some solutions are temporary; many things we have to pay for ourselves. This, however, will reflect elsewhere, like on salaries. Moreover, the operation of the building is much more expensive; the operational costs of the entire faculty have increased by half due to the new building," Ševčík added.
    Otherwise, however, he praises the building. "The building was not easy to bring to life, but fortunately it stands, it is beautiful, airy, and full of light. Of course, as with any new construction, you discover things that you would do differently next time," he adds.
    The furniture in the new building is also not shining with novelty. Although the university announced a competition for the supply of furniture worth several tens of millions of crowns, unsuccessful companies appealed, and due to errors, the competition was canceled by the anti-monopoly office. As a result of significant costs, old furniture was moved into the new building.
    In addition to the dean's office, 12 departments, the library, and the study department relocated to the new building. The new premises enabled the concentration of subjects in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences in one center.
    However, the new building did not resolve the faculty's capacity issues.