TU/e canceled the tender because it was no longer necessary. According to university spokesperson Ivo Jongsma, this is because BAM wants to take responsibility as the builder. BAM itself says that it was agreed that the university would take the lead in communicating about the matter.

Late last year, it became clear that the attachment of the glass panels to the facade of Flux was inadequate. The building, which houses the departments of Applied Physics & Science Education and Electrical Engineering, is covered with a total of 9,700 square meters of glass.

As quickly as possible

At the time the tender was being prepared, it was still unclear whether BAM would take on its role in repairing the facade, Jongsma says. The European tender procedure was launched so the facade could be repaired as quickly as possible.

According to him, the university and BAM are now in constructive talks about the renovation. Both parties commissioned independent investigations to determine how the defects occurred and to find a solution. Jongsma says the findings of the investigations largely align.

Dispute

A legal dispute between the two parties over who is responsible is still ongoing. Although BAM will now carry out the facade repairs, the outcome of the dispute will determine who ultimately bears the cost of the work, according to Jongsma.

The total cost will only become clear once a final solution has been selected. At the moment, the university is still using test setups to determine which solution works best.

Cleanroom

The repair work is expected to begin around the end of October. Construction of the cleanroom, on the parking lot next to Flux on De Zaale, is scheduled for March 2027. The facade must be repaired before then, to ensure the two projects won't interfere with each other. The university expects that timeline to be met and that the north facade will be completed in February.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.