“University of Excellence” Konstanz: Building Y is officially Opened
22. October 2008
It has been almost a full year since University of Konstanz was designated a "University of Excellence.” The Center of Excellence “Cultural Foundations of Integration" was the first institution at the University to receive the seal of excellence from the official evaluators. It was then followed by the doctoral programs in "Chemical Biology" and "Conceiving the Future.”
The new Building Y on the campus creates additional office space as well as a meeting and conference room for the approximately 80 employees of the Center. On 22 October, it was officially ceded to the University and offices were opened. University rector, Prof. Dr. Gerhart v. Graevenitz, is delighted about the campus expansion.
The new building has fulfilled all of our expectations. It was completed in record time. It creates space for our new coworkers. It fits harmoniously into our campus and is directly connected to the existing buildings.
Tilo Prautzsch, the director of facilities management, also stressed how quickly the building was planned and constructed. "We all pulled together and were able to complete the entire project in top speed—without having to take any shortcuts. In greater detail: the actual planning phase took place from September 2006 to March 2007. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in May 2007. In August 2008, the researchers moved into their new offices on campus in close proximity to the library. During construction, the alleged discovery of a bomb on the site caused a stir, only later to turn out to have been an oxygen tank. The Kampfmittelräumdienst [German war weapons cleanup agency] investigated the find and disposed of it.
The new building has main use area of 1,180 square meters and is one-hundred percent university funded. The total construction cost amounted to 3,298,000 euros. There are already plans to extend the new three-story building with Building Y2. Construction will soon commence on Y2 that will be ready to move into at the start of 2010. There should also be Kunst am Bau [the legal requirement that art be included on new sites] in Building Y. However, those plans will not be realized until Y2 is completed and are currently under negotiation with the Arts Commission.