Nordecon Ehitus signed a contract with the University of Tartu yesterday, pursuant to which the former maternity hospital located in Toomemäe, Tartu, will be re-built for a new study block of the Faculty of Social Sciences. The contractual cost of the building work is 56.2 million kroons.
"When looking at completed objects or those in the design phase, it is obvious that the university is the biggest employer of construction companies in Tartu. I am also happy that the Nordecon Group will have the possibility to make its contribution to the development of the national university and science and to provide the employees and students of the Faculty of Social Sciences with a modern study environment," said Marko Raudsik, the chairman of the board of Nordecon Ehitus AS.
"On the other hand the project is about the re-construction of a building that for more than one and a half centuries has acted as a maternity hospital and thus related to warm memories for many inhabitants of Tartu and Southern Estonia. This in its turn gives an emotional dimension to the construction works and in some sense brings greater social responsibility," admitted Marko Raudsik. "But there is no need to worry since as it is a cultural monument and already the location – Toomemäe – sets its limits, the building will be preserved in its current volume."
During the reconstruction work of the former Women’s Clinic of the University of Tartu, the third floor under the attic will be used to the maximum extent and a roof will be built around the courtyard block. The entire roof covering will be replaced with a new rolled-steel cover and the attic will be provided with new insulation. The façade will be cleaned, and plastered areas will be improved where necessary and covered with lime paint. Also inside the building only lime plaster and paints will be used.
On the floors the initial room division will be preserved as much as possible. Stair rails and steps will be renovated, we will try to preserve floor coverings on landings and also partially in corridors and rooms. Depreciated wooden ceilings will be replaced with new ceilings made of reinforced concrete; new concrete subfloors will be made. Windows and doors will be renovated or replaced with new ones.
Construction work also involves maintenance works around the building and reconstruction of utility lines. The garage, cellar and bicycle storage located in the courtyard, inside the hill will also be improved, and in addition new stairs will be built next to the substation and the stairs with a bridge leading to the hill will also be reconstructed. The construction work of a new study block will start immediately and work is planned to be completed in September 2011.
