In 2022, the Albertov Campus should finally start functioning

Prague - At the beginning of September, an architectural competition was announced for the long-prepared Albertov Campus, whose first plans and visualizations began to emerge ten years ago. Two new research centers of Charles University (CU) for 2.5 billion crowns should be operational by 2022. This is the largest construction project of CU in the center of Prague in the last hundred years, said the university's rector Tomáš Zima at today's press conference.
The Biocenter and Globcenter will serve as scientific facilities for the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, the Faculty of Science, and the First Faculty of Medicine of CU. The Biocenter will focus on understanding living systems for human health needs, new biotechnologies, and biodiversity conservation.
Research at the Globcenter will be aimed at individual aspects of global changes. This includes, for example, the dynamics of the planet's climate changes, changes in the distribution of organisms, natural threats and risks, or the dynamics of the spread of animal species and vegetation.
The rector of Charles University reminded that these fields belong to the top disciplines on a global scale. According to him, the discussion about the new buildings goes far back before the first plans for Albertov Campus, which have been ongoing for ninety years. The new facilities are essential for modern research. "Current buildings from the late 19th century have their charm, and we can beautifully reconstruct them, but we are encountering technological and spatial problems. We are hitting the fact that a building designed in 1885 has certain limits,” Zima stated.
The project will be funded from the state budget. Together, more than 1200 people are expected to work in both buildings. According to Zima, the new spaces could attract top researchers and students from abroad to CU. The concentration of various disciplines in one place should facilitate cooperation among experts and strengthen the synergistic effect.
When selecting the winning project, the level of operating costs will play an important role. "Modern technologies are such that energy and operational demands should be equal to zero or very low,” Zima mentioned.
The competition assignment has been prepared for more than two years. It includes materials for model types of laboratories as well as lists of special technologies requiring specific construction infrastructure, such as large devices, breeding of experimental animals, or infectious spaces.
Currently, there are facilities for the construction of new centers, such as a cafeteria or a neighboring wooden building of the student dormitory. These will be demolished. New buildings will arise there, the design of which will be the result of the architectural competition. Proposals for the first round will be submitted by mid-January 2016. The second round will begin at the end of February 2016 and will last until June 2016. The jury will select the winner by the fall of 2016. Then, detailed project development and obtaining all necessary permits will take three years. The actual construction should last from spring 2020 to the end of 2021.