The CMB must vacate its current location to make room for larger operating rooms. The old operating rooms nearby no longer meet today’s requirements.
The move will have other benefits, as well, says CMB manager Annalies Koelstra. ‘The CMB is mainly used by students; when it’s busy there it causes a nuisance for the hospital. Students wander around the various departments, taking up space meant for patients and visitors. So the move makes sense.’
Antonius Deusinglaan
The library will move to the most northern part of the UMCG terrain at the Antonius Deusinglaan. The CMB will be housed in a space that is currently used as a cafeteria and locker rooms.
But the construction required to outfit the space properly caused some problems in December. ‘The first drawings were made without a definitive framework of the space we have. Not everyone was happy with that’, Koelstra says.
‘Library will remain available’
A committee has been created in the meantime to ensure construction goes smoothly. The number of study spots will not be reduced at the new location, Koelstra says. ‘That was an important condition. It’s our ambition to actually add student facilities in a later phase of the renovation at the Antonius Deusinglaan, but I can’t say anything definitive about that yet.’
Whether the library will actually be moved before the new academic year, Koelstra doesn’t know. ‘We’re on a tight schedule. We have every intention of making it. Regardless, I will ensure that the CMB facilities remain available to students at all times.’