Construction logbook | Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Gdańsk University of Technology

At the end of the year, GUT announced a tender for the construction and equipment of the Eco-innovation Center (CEI), as part of the project ‘Construction of the Eco-innovation Center of Gdańsk University of Technology in Gdańsk’. The facility will be built on the site of the former hydro hall, which is currently being demolished.

The construction of CEI will enable the implementation of modern and innovative solutions in line with the idea of building eco-cities and creating ecological areas. They will be developed by the scientific staff of GUT (mainly from the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering), who will conduct research projects for the ecological development of construction, industrial and transport infrastructure. The investment will also be the headquarters of the EkoTech Center, one of the four newly established GUT Research Centers, which were created after the university received the ‘research university’ status in the program of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education ‘Excellence Initiative - Research University’.

Ecological technologies in modern laboratories

The tender contract covers the construction of a new facility – the GUT Eco-innovation Center (CEI), designed as a free-standing, four-storey building, less than 18 m high. The overground storeys of the building will mainly house conference rooms, laboratories and offices, and the underground level is designed as a garage and storage area. The scope of the contract also includes the renovation of a part of Siedlicka Street.

– CEI is to be a modern building that will perform the education, laboratory and research functions. We designed it in an environmentally friendly way with the use of innovative, advanced technologies - says Mariusz Miler, GUT Chancellor. –The construction of the center will amount to PLN 97 million, and a significant part of the funds, nearly PLN 20 million, was obtained from an EU subsidy.

Obtaining additional funds for the construction of CEI from the EU funds was possible thanks to the cooperation of GUT with the Pomeranian Development Agency - a unit of the self-government of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, which deals with handling European funds and at the same time supporting economic undertakings of high regional importance.

The areas of activity of the GUT Eco-innovation Center

The planned investment will be a research and development base for the most important specializations of the Pomeranian region, i.e. construction, eco-energy and environmental protection technologies. The center's activities will be focused on the following areas:

• Environment: water and sewage management, waste management, environmental protection through the development of wastewater treatment technologies, water and flood management,
• Energy: energy efficiency, renewable energy sources,
• Construction: energy-saving cubature and transport constructions, structural foundations of power installations,
• Mobility: road and rail infrastructure, urban transport, development of ecological forms of transport,
• Revitalization: public and resident-friendly spaces, energy-efficient constructions, revitalization of degraded urban and post-industrial areas,
• Education: educating future staff focused on creating innovative ecological solutions,
• Industry: transfer of knowledge and skills to the economy.

The deadline for submitting bids for admission to the tender is 11 February 2021. The opening of bids and the potential award of the tender will also take place on the same day. The main criteria that will be taken into account when selecting the contractor are: price (60 points), completion date (30 points) and warranty period (10 points). The investment will be completed at the turn of 2022 and 2023 at the earliest.