Construction of New Chemistry Laboratory Building on Schedule
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Even in times of the coronavirus crisis, building work on the campus of TU Dortmund University continues: In a huge hole on Otto-Hahn-Strasse, the foundations are currently being cast for the new laboratory building of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. A six-floor building with floor space of about 3,300 m² will be erected here by the end of 2022.
The hole excavated for the laboratory building is up to 14 meters deep. The edge length is 55 meters and 25,000 m³ of soil have been removed. “Building work is proceeding on schedule so far, despite the coronavirus crisis,” reports Jürgen Palgen from the Department of Construction and Facility Management of TU Dortmund University. He is supervising the new building.
The laboratory buildung will house two large areas for practical work as well as research laboratories and offices for inorganic and organic chemistry on the main floor space of about 3,300 m². The height of the six-floor building and its brick facade mirror the neighboring replacement building for physics/chemistry, which the faculties moved into in 2015. The main entrance to the building is on Otto-Hahn-Strasse. There is also an entrance on the north side for staff and students coming from the existing chemistry/physics building.
Building progress can be followed via webcam
After the demolition of Pavilion 11 was completed last year, which up until now stood on the site of the new laboratory building, structural work commenced this spring. The owner, BLB NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia’s building and real estate management authority) anticipates a total building time of around three years. The construction of the new laboratory building is a further important element of the “Decade Project”, in the framework of which the chemistry and physics buildings will be upgraded or new ones built in the course of about ten years.

At the present time, more or less all that can be seen of the new building is a gigantic hole. So that soil does not slip down into it, bored pile walls were erected before excavation began: For this, the construction company first of all drilled holes almost 20 meters deep and 90 centimeters in diameter around the edge of the site to be excavated and filled them with baskets of reinforcing steel and concrete. This produced a row of piles that secures the excavation pit.
How building work is progressing can be followed via webcam.
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The campus of TU Dortmund University is located close to interstate junction Dortmund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dortmund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is "Dortmund-Eichlinghofen" (closer to Campus Süd), and from B 1 / A 40 "Dortmund-Dorstfeld" (closer to Campus Nord). Signs for the university are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dortmund.
To get from Campus Nord to Campus Süd by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at Campus Nord and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.
TU Dortmund University has its own train station ("Dortmund Universität"). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dortmund main station ("Dortmund Hauptbahnhof") and Düsseldorf main station via the "Düsseldorf Airport Train Station" (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 20 or 30 minutes). The university is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.
You can also take the bus or subway train from Dortmund city to the university: From Dortmund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station "Stadtgarten", usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At "Stadtgarten" you switch trains and get on line U42 towards "Hombruch". Look out for the Station "An der Palmweide". From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dortmund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dortmund main station to the stop "Dortmund Kampstraße". From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop "Dortmund Wittener Straße". Switch to bus line 447 and get off at "Dortmund Universität S".
The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dortmund Airport (DTM) to Dortmund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dortmund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of international flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.
The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dortmund University. There are two stations on Campus Nord. One ("Dortmund Universität S") is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the university directly with the city of Dortmund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the "Technologiepark" and (via Campus Süd) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at Campus Nord and offers a direct connection to Campus Süd every five minutes.
The facilities of TU Dortmund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent "Technologiepark".
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