The construction of the new medical campus in Olomouc is completed, classes will begin in September

Olomouc - The construction of a modern four-story campus for the education of students at the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences of Palacký University (UP) in Olomouc is complete. The builders have handed it over to the university in recent days, and in the coming months, the building awaits final approval and completion of the spaces. The faculties plan to start full operation in September, with the beginning of the new academic year, said UP spokesman Egon Havrlant today. The construction, which began in the summer of 2023, lasted 30 months and cost approximately 628 million crowns. Nearly 70 percent of the costs were covered by state subsidies.

The new building has risen next to the theoretical institutes of the Faculty of Medicine and the Olomouc university hospital complex at Tabulový Hill. "It will provide medical students and those in other healthcare fields with modern teaching spaces, simulation and research laboratories, a large auditorium, excellent study facilities, and a new cafeteria. We still have more follow-up steps to take, especially the final approval and also the furnishing of all spaces and their trial operation," said the university spokesman.

The building on Hněvotínská Street has also become an architectural landmark in this part of the city, adorned with 3,000 red metal triangles on its facade, which form a shading system. "Personally, I perceive the completion of the campus of the Faculty of Medicine at Palacký University in Olomouc as one of the most interesting projects in recent times. The unique facade made of triangular panels goes beyond standard solutions, and thus I hope it will be a refreshing design element of an interesting campus for many years," stated project manager Radek Nepustil from the construction company Gemo, which built the campus, in a statement to ČTK today.

Before the main building construction began, the builders had to remove an old military artillery garage at the site of a former brownfield. This was followed by the relocation of utility networks and site modifications corresponding to the new height positioning of the new building. According to the builders, another interesting milestone of the construction includes monolithic structures. These consist of stepped floors supported by slanted perimeter columns. The campus building is equipped with the latest audiovisual technology. The interior design requirements were also significantly above standard, the representatives of Gemo stated.

The deans of both faculties are already looking forward to the operation of the building with its original architecture, designed by Atelier Velehradský from Brno, which they deemed necessary at the start of construction. A part of the modern, unmistakable building will also be an auditorium with a non-traditional circular floor plan and a capacity of nearly 400 listeners. There will be spaces for practical training of future doctors and healthcare providers on state-of-the-art simulators, as well as a cafeteria with a capacity of up to 2,500 diners daily.