The Olomouc Faculty of Philosophy is set for reconstruction and relocation

Olomouc - The main building of the Faculty of Arts of Palacký University at Křížkovského Street 10 in Olomouc is set for extensive reconstruction. The university has received a grant from the Ministry of Education amounting to 240 million CZK. Work is expected to begin in 2013. Until then, the faculty must figure out where to temporarily relocate the departments, said the faculty dean Jiří Lach today to ČTK.
    "The building is in a state of disrepair and needs to be completely renovated. This will involve the reconstruction of the facade, internal spaces, and all networks. Teaching will definitely not be possible during the construction there," the dean stated.
    The faculty, which has approximately 6000 students, currently occupies six buildings. During the reconstruction, it will need to find another building for several departments. "In 2013, a building on Svobody Avenue should already be available, where part of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health Sciences currently resides. If this option does not work out, we will likely seek help from the region to see if they have any vacant school building," Lach mentioned.
    The first phase of the reconstruction of the building at Křížkovského Street 10 was completed in 2007. The renovation at that time involved the attic space, where new classrooms for German studies, Slavic studies, and audiovisual technology were created.
    The faculty has also completed partial repairs in the building at Křížkovského 14. "The journalism department, which had long operated in an inadequate building on Wurmova Street, moved into these revitalized spaces on October 3. Some construction work was also carried out in the attic of the building on Křížkovského Street 12. Thus, this summer has been a period of building and moving for the faculty," stated secretary Jiřina Menšíková.
    The Faculty of Arts is also trying to obtain funds from the EU. If successful, it will be able to renovate the entire buildings at Křížkovského Street 12 and 14. This could mean that by around 2015, the faculty should have top-equipped facilities in the philological campus right in the center of Olomouc.
    Other faculties of the university also need buildings for their development. The completion of the theoretical institutes of the medical faculty has started, and the construction of a new research-educational center is being prepared in the courtyard of the existing building of the Faculty of Education.