OREANDA-NEWS.  February 20, 2012. Nordecon AS signed a contract with the University of Tartu to design and build a translational medicine centre located on Viljandi Road. The centre will be built as an extension to the current Chemistry Building of the University. The value of the contract is 7.23 million euros VAT not included.

“The contract we signed today to design and build the translational medicine centre is a pleasant continuation of our joint projects with the University of Tartu. The last in the series of such projects is the new academic building of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Education on Toomemдgi Hill, Tartu, the opening ceremony of which was held a few weeks back. Next, we will focus on constructing the named research centre – important for the Faculty of Medicine as well as for medical sciences – on the outskirts of Tartu. The centre should be open to researchers in two years’ time,” said Marko Raudsik, member of the board of Nordecon AS.

“The translation medicine centre is quite a challenge for builders, as the solutions required for designing and building its technological systems are fairly complicated,” added Marko Raudsik. “The first few months we will concentrate on design tasks and construction work will start in the summer of 2012.”

According to Marko Raudsik, the soon-to-be-built three-floor facility will have a gross area of 5,712 m2 and will be erected as an extension to the Chemistry Building on the site of Viljandi Road 42. The new building, which will be connected to the existing facility with a single-floor structure running along Ravila Street, will be designed in the same solid and simple modernist style as the Chemistry Building.

On the ground and first floors of the translational medicine centre there will be storage facilities for animals, medical laboratories for behavioural experiments, an MRI department and surgery facilities as well as non-work and dressing rooms with sluices and air showers for employees. The second floor will contain cleanroom laboratories. The parts of the first and second floors facing Ravila Street will be used as offices and a seminar hall.

The development of the translational medicine centre of the University of Tartu is, in addition to the University itself, financed by SA Archimedes in an amount of almost 3.5 million euros.