The construction of the kindergarten in Semily will be delayed by five months due to COVID

Semily – The construction of the kindergarten in Semily will take about five months longer than the town hall anticipated. As a result, children will remain in temporary premises until February of next year, with plans to move during the spring break. Work stalled at the beginning of the construction, then everything was complicated by the coronavirus and also by the shortage of workers and building materials, which builders across the country are currently facing, said mayor Lena Mlejnková (Mayors for the Liberec Region) today.

Construction on the project worth over one hundred million crowns began last April with the demolition of the old kindergarten. During the foundation of the new building, the contractor discovered that the drilling rig could not handle the construction on pilings, and the designer then had to change the foundations.

"Fortunately, nothing fundamental regarding the functioning of the kindergartens is pressing for us, because they are in our premises, but the delay is of course unpleasant," the mayor said. According to her, the construction has not yet become more expensive; on the contrary, due to the change in the foundation, the city managed to save four million. Whether the children will actually move in February will depend, according to Mlejnková, on how quickly the kitchen equipment and furniture can be delivered to the new kindergarten. The city is currently looking for a supplier for that.

The construction of a new kindergarten on the site of unsuitable buildings from the 1980s has been planned in Semily since 2009, but the city has not managed to obtain funding from the so-called Norwegian funds. In 2015, the town hall announced an architectural competition, which garnered interest from over 200 architectural firms. About one-third of them submitted designs, not only from the Czech Republic but also from Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Sweden, Spain, and Japan. The design had to also accommodate the fact that the building would house two independent educational programs – alongside the standard kindergarten, there will also be a Waldorf kindergarten.

The competition was won by the design by Marek Topič. His single-story building will have a green roof, but it appealed to the jury mainly due to its layout with minimal corridors and the flexible overlap of two circles with a common background. The town hall secured 82 million crowns for construction from the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP). Before the kindergarten for 110 children is completed, it is utilizing temporary premises on Komenského Square next to the art school. The town hall renovated the building for preschool children; once the children move to the new kindergarten, the art school will use it, as its current premises are insufficient.