Extraordinary volumes characterise the renovation of the University of Pannonia in Veszprém

The local VEMÉV-SZER Kft., together with the Budapest-based Fodor Kft., is carrying out the energy renovation of the buildings of Pannon University in Veszprém. Our newspaper obtained information about this large-scale development from Cemix Hungary Kft., which is supplying numerous products for the work.

The project involves almost all the buildings of the lower campus of the University of Pannonia, which is the complex of buildings located on the southeast side of Egyetem Street. Accordingly, the Aula building, which serves as the main building of the University, will be renewed, as well as the buildings of the Faculty of Engineering (I), the Faculty of Economics (A), the Faculty of Engineering (B), Building C, the Gymnasium, and Buildings D and J. The energy modernisation also includes the renewal of the heating system of the university.

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Another significant investment affecting Pannon University was the external development of the institution, which was carried out by WEST HUNGÁRIA BAU Kft. and VEMÉV-SZER Kft.. The project, which was handed over on 5 October, included the construction of an underground car park, surface car parks, a new multifunctional sports field, green and community areas, and access roads.

Of the eight buildings affected, he highlighted the work on Building I, which, at over 50 metres, is the tallest structure on campus. „Its surface area is between 3,500 and 4,000 square metres, and the work has already been completed here. Due to fire safety regulations, the new system was made entirely of mineral wool. Here, both for bonding and for embedding the mesh, Styrokleber extra adhesive was used for both bonding and mesh embedding, and thermal bridge-free metal screw anchors provide additional mechanical fastening. After that, the plaster base coat was applied, followed by the SiliconOLA plaster.”

Severe wind loads were also to be expected

He said that this plaster was chosen because Cemix is durable, self-cleaning and has better algae barrier properties than a normal resin plaster.

Another aspect had to be taken into account for the thermal insulation of Building I, including the mechanical fixings.

"With a building of this height, with such a large surface area, you have to take into account the wind load and the fact that the receiving surface is reinforced concrete. Therefore, the anchoring of the thermal insulation panels for the mechanical anchoring was designed with countersunk, thermal bridge-free dowelling."

He added that this means using a metal screw anchor. "We had to use extra reinforcement in the dowelling at the corners, compressing the fixing points. We developed this solution in conjunction with our dowel supplier, and to achieve this we carried out dowel pull tests at several locations on the building."

Both the colour and the structure were chosen through on-site consultation

However, polystyrene was the insulation material of choice for many other buildings. „A graphite thermal insulation system was used here, also working with Styrokleber extra adhesive. At the same time, StrukturOLA Dekor synthetic resin colouring plaster was used after the plaster base coat.” He added that the plaster base coat used in each case was the product called Putzgrund.

In addition to setting up the dowelling, site consultations were also held to select the colour and structure. "Eighty per cent of our customers choose the Kapart 1.5 structure, but here the contractor opted for the Kapart 2 structure, given the large surface areas and the effects of the weather."

Exceptional volumes in both insulation and production

Interestingly, he said, nearly a thousand square metres of the surface was sprayed by machine. "This was a pioneering and innovative solution by the contractor, which we were able to support because all our buckets of plaster are machine-sprayed, but so is the adhesive patch itself."

The importance of this was illustrated by the fact that a thousand square metres of surface can be coloured by four to six people in a few days. "With this machine, you can apply plaster up to 8-10 storeys high, so you didn't have to apply the material up to 50 metres, it was only enough to 30 metres.

The scale of the work is reflected in the fact that, following the completion of the entire energy renovation, nearly 15,000 square metres of new insulation and 899 new windows and doors were installed. This was accompanied by the use of 50 tonnes of coloured plaster and 140 tonnes of adhesive plaster.

"The extraordinary quantities are also indicated by the fact that the materials for Cemix did not come from a single production line, we physically could not produce so many plasters at the same time. It was a challenge for our lab, among others, to produce exactly the same colour for each challenge"

- the project leader concluded.