After almost one year of works on the Silesian Museum’s new seat, the building is 60% done. The construction crews also finished ground works on the excavation in which the underground facility is being built. Approximately 350 workers are present at the construction site every day.
The groundbreaking ceremony that formally begun the works on the new home for the Silesian Museum took place on 6th of July 2011. The construction progress over the last year was presented today by the representatives of the Museum and Budimex S.A., a prime contractor of the investment.
“The most important information is that we have finished the ground works on the spectacular excavation for the underground storeys of the building what was the most difficult part. At the moment the foundation slab is 95% done, the concrete structure of the Silesian Museum is 65% finished. Installation and fit-out works are already commenced in some parts of the facility” – said Grzegorz Tymich, Budimex’s contract director of the project.
Additionally, a raw state of the so called underground „central hall” was already delivered. The hall will connect the existing coal-mine buildings, a new grand foyer and a car park creating an underground connection route. It will also be a place of different types of events.
Restoration works on the elevation of the first (the future Polish Scenography Center) of two former “Katowice” coal mine buildings were concluded. Moreover, the former “Warszawa” mineshaft is being adapted for a sightseeing platform situated on the top. Three-quarters of works on the mineshaft’s elevator for visitors is finished.
Samples of an acid-etched glass of which glass boxes will be made, were already delivered at the site. The glass is enriched by a texture on the surface imitating fossils which refer to coal. The boxes, some of them even more than ten meters high, will be installed on the roof of the underground Silesian Museum. Apart from other functions, the boxes will illuminate the underground interiors of the new seat.
During the next months, elevators and moving stairways will be brought and installed inside the building. “We want to finish a raw state of the complex in autumn this year” – Tymich reported. The new Silesian Museum is to be opened in 2013.
