Construction Works

NVIC will undergo a facelift; thanks to a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science the institute will be renovated.The work will create some inconvenience for our staff and visitors during the coming year… We will keep you informed on the progress on this page.

Update 15 February 2010

Next week the first internal move will take place, in preparation of the reconstruction of NVIC’s first floor. The first floor offices will temporarily be moved to the guest rooms on the second floor, where work is almost finished.

The first half of the library has been packed and stored. The Egyptological section of the library will not be available to visitors, unfortunately. The main library will stay open a little longer, but with adjusted opening hours.

In the basement, most of the demolition work has been finished by now. Here, the classrooms and teacher’s offices will be located in the future. The entrance to this floor will be moved to the front of the building.

 

Construction works – update 20 January 2010
The second phase of the renovation of the NVIC is almost completed. In this phase, the main staircase was extended to the roof. On the roof, air handling equipment was installed to serve the class rooms and the library, and a bar is being constructed for use during receptions.
The guest floor was changed extensively. Now we have an open kitchen, two new bathrooms and two extra toilets for use by guests during receptions. In the guest rooms, new electricity, telephone, and data points, and new fire alarms have been installed. The floors and woodwork will be repainted. The new fire escape on the outside of the building is finished. On the ground floor the serverroom was prepared for the new data-equipment.

At the moment we are preparing the first internal move, prior to the third phase of the works. Half of the library (the collection in the basement and on the first floor, mainly Egyptology) will be packed and stored, and will unfortunately not be available to readers for the coming months. The collection in the main library will stay accessible for some time. At the end of February, part of the NVIC staff will move temporarily to the second floor.
We have organised alternative classrooms close to the NVIC for the semester that starts end of January. In the middle of this month, project leader Bert Döpp and architect Ernst Hoek of Leiden University (Real estate) visited Cairo to discuss the progress and execution of the works. This time they took the opportunity to visit another major renovation project as well (see photo).
Construction works – update October 20, 2009
The refurbishment of the NVIC has started. One of the first tasks was the construction of a shaft from the roof, that will hold all technical installations such as the climate control equipment. Because of the hole in the roof, we cannot organise any large receptions on the roof at the moment; so no ‘opening of the academic season’ party this year. We also created new storage space, and improved the facilities of the security personnel. The spaces for the new fire escape and the electricity main switches are prepared. We have now entered the next phase: the reconstruction of the roof terrace and the guest floor. The guest floor will remain closed in this period, but luckily our lectures and other activities will continue!
Renovation of the institute
In 2007, NVIC received a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, with the purpose of improving the building and the facilities. Moreover, the grant is used to broaden the activities and services of NVIC. More researchers and students of participating universities will be able to use NVIC’s facilities and participate in the activities. NVIC will broaden its scope to non-participating universities and to scholars in new disciplines, increase the cooperation with other Dutch institutes abroad, and improve the connection between its teaching programmes and the regular curricula at the participating universities.

In a thorough preparation phase, the real estate department of Leiden University prepared a detailed renovation plan. The work started in august, and will most probably take a year to finish. The renovations are carried out by an Egyptian company under close supervision of Leiden University.

After the renovations the facilities in the classrooms will have improved substantially, due to climate control and modern teaching equipment. The library will be connected to the climate control as well. Computer workspaces, laptop connection points and modern projection equipment will change the library into a pleasant place to study and organise lectures. The space for books will increase, so that the library can keep growing. Offices, kitchens and toilet blocks will be modernised. In the guest floor, a new kitchen and new bathrooms will be installed. The central staircase will be extended to the roof terrace, so that guests will not have to cross the guest floor anymore. For safety, an extra fire escape is planned, access to the classrooms will be relocated and the overview of the security staff will be improved.

During the work, the institute will continue its normal activities as much as possible. Nevertheless, it will be unavoidable to close parts of the institute for shorter or longer periods. The guest floor will not always be accessible, the library will have to close for a period of time, and we will have to arrange external class rooms for a number of months. We kindly ask your understanding and patience. The website and the newsletter will inform you regularly on the work and the consequences for you.
Web Editor – 24/02/2010