Modern sanitary facilities, LEDs instead of neon tubes and lots of new windows – during the summer break, tradespeople will be hard at work renovating and refurbishing the campus. The sports facilities, in particular, are undergoing a complete overhaul in many areas, which is why some of the sports activities will be cancelled this summer.
The university’s swimming pool is gradually disappearing behind scaffolding, whilst red-and-white barrier tape blocks off the ground floor of the A1 building. Behind it: bales of insulation, cable reels and a stepladder. Since last week, building sites have been springing up in many places across the campus, with tradespeople clearing out, hauling away and setting up. Time is short; some of the refurbishments must be completed by the start of the winter semester. In total, around twelve million euros will be invested over the next two years in new buildings and the refurbishment of university buildings. Seven million of this is being provided by the State of Lower Saxony, whilst the university is contributing five million from its own funds.
The most noticeable disruption caused by the building work is at the sports centre. As a result, the university swimming pool will remain closed this year until the start of the winter semester in mid-October – rather than for the usual six weeks over the summer. The reason: the roof of the swimming pool hall is being replaced. The structure, which dates from the 1980s, no longer meets today’s energy efficiency requirements, explains Carsten Steinbrenner, head of the department for site and construction planning. This results in significant heat loss and leaks. Parts of the roof truss on the glass dome roof are therefore being refurbished, and the glass panels are being replaced with so-called ‘Thermopenglas’, which provides better insulation. The adjacent flat roof is being stripped back to the concrete slab and rebuilt.
Users of the sports hall on Uhlhornsweg will also have to be patient over the coming weeks, but in return there will be new changing rooms, showers and toilets. The current sanitary facilities are nearly 40 years old: pipes, tiles and wooden ceilings have suffered from damp. “The wing will first be gutted. Walls will also be moved to reconfigure the rooms,” says Steinbrenner, explaining the process. This will mean that in future, athletes will be able to access the toilets directly – without having to go via the changing rooms. The windows along the corridor will also be replaced. From 21 August, the hall will be available to athletes again, though without changing rooms or showers until mid-November. The first rooms are due to be opened then, with the remainder following in a second phase in early December. The sports hall on Ammerländer Heerstraße is also being refurbished: the building is getting a new façade and a new roof. Inside the sports hall, the old lights are also being replaced with LEDs. This means there will be no summer break sports programme. On 21 August, the programme for the semester break will start again. Online registration for the courses opens on 14 August at 4.00 pm.
As well as the sports facilities, the builders are also working on various seminar rooms and lecture theatres. In Building A1, four seminar rooms on the ground floor have already been cleared out. Over the coming weeks, they will be fitted with new floors, windows, ceilings, lighting and ventilation systems. Touchscreens will in future replace the analogue weekly timetables next to the doors. Staff and students will be able to use these to view room bookings, information about events and contact details for the central room management team. In the adjacent Building A3, three new seminar rooms are being created on the fourth floor from September onwards. The previously ‘dark’ rooms will be fitted with windows, escape routes will be extended and a new ventilation system installed. A lift will ensure barrier-free access to the floor.
In Wechloy, tradespeople will be refurbishing the large lecture theatre over the coming weeks: LED lighting, a new electrical distribution system and emergency lighting. If time permits, the over 400 square metres of carpet will also be replaced. The recently opened cafeteria is also set to gain a lounge area with seating arrangements and a coffee machine behind the main entrance. Cyclists in Wechloy also have something to look forward to: staff will soon have access to lockable bicycle sheds with charging points for e-bikes at W16 (ICBM) and W16a (EMS); at W33 (Windlab), a freely accessible covered shelter will soon be available.
Various construction projects are also planned for 2018: amongst other things, a laboratory for medical staff is being built in A3, and the entire A1–A4 complex will also be fitted with a new fire-extinguishing system. Behind the A8, the Language Centre is to move into its own new building, whilst Lecture Theatre B (A11) and the Chamber Music Hall are to be refurbished.
At the start of August, tradespeople will also be moving into the Unikum on Uhlhornsweg: after more than 30 years of continuous use, Stage 2 of the University Theatre is due for a complete overhaul. Among other things, new lighting will be installed, and the electrical system and ventilation system will be modernised. According to Jürgen Boese, the Head of Cultural Affairs, around 26,000 euros are being invested. 14,000 euros were raised through a fundraising campaign last year, with the Student Services Organisation covering the remainder. The work must be completed by mid-September, when rehearsals for the new semester will begin.
