Karlovac armoury project: RCK protection at the highest level
Exactly three years after the start of the reconstruction of the destroyed army building on Ban Jelačić Square in Karlovac, the newly renovated Regional Centre of Excellence for Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and IT, Tourism and Hospitality was presented to the public on 22 February. It is the largest educational project in the history of Karlovac County and a valuable contribution to the current efforts to revitalise the historic city centre.
We began the story of the reconstruction of the army building with the article The Return of Baroque Splendour: The Reconstruction of a Military Building in the Heart of Karlovac’s Zvijezda. Architect Dinko Kovačić introduced us to the most important interventions on the building, and we also presented Wienerberger’s solutions that helped restore the original beauty of this 18th century military building.
The mayor of the county, Martina Furdek-Hajdin, and others involved in the reconstruction will now introduce us to the multi-layered significance of this project.
The reconstruction of the armoury for the purpose of building the infrastructure of regional competence centres under the responsibility of the Karlovac Technical School and the Karlovac Trade and Hospitality School is the largest project in the education sector in Karlovac County, with a volume of around 15 million euros.
The building conversion project consisted of a total of 13 individual projects, which were financed from five different sources: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the EU Solidarity Fund (ESF), the Fund for Co-financing the Implementation of EU Projects and the Co-financing Programme for the Completion of the Implementation of EU Projects (MRRFEU).
In addition, the RCK will also implement formal and non-formal adult education programmes. So the RCK is not just an investment in education and school equipment, but much more, says the prefect of the district:
“It’s a collaboration between the education sector, business and civil society, it’s a turnaround and a transformation in our secondary education system that I believe will bring significant improvements to our economy and society in general.”
From specialised classrooms and practical lessons to a souvenir shop, patisserie and restaurant
On the ground floor of the building are the premises of the Regional Centre of Excellence for Tourism and Hospitality, which is part of the Karlovac School of Commerce and Hospitality. In addition to the classrooms and practical classes for teaching, there is also a souvenir shop, a pastry shop and a restaurant, which the prefect of the county hopes will become a favourite meeting place for the people of Karlovac and their guests.
The Karlovac Technical School has owned two competence centres since 2018. The regional competence centre in the field of mechanical engineering is located on the first floor, while the regional competence centre in the field of electrical engineering and computer science is located on the second floor of the armoury.
The fourth floor is not fully equipped and will be used as a centre of competence and excellence for STEM subjects under the responsibility of the Karlovac Polytechnic, which also has specialised laboratories, internships and offices.
“This space is owned by Karlovac Polytechnic, which wants to set it up and use it. Our polytechnic is currently working very intensively on projects to set up a canteen in the Bosanski magazin and to convert the former military hospital into a student residence, both of which are also in Zvijezda,” Furdek-Hajdin announced.
With the restoration of the Armory the whole of Zvijezda is coming to life
In addition to the main contractor, the company VACON from Karlovac was also involved in the construction work. The subcontractor was responsible for carrying out all construction, craft and electrical work as part of the reconstruction and decoration.
The company’s previous experience with the reconstruction of cultural monuments relates primarily to hotel maintenance projects on the Opatija Riviera. Just last year, the reconstruction of the façade of the Hotel Kvarner in Opatija, the oldest Croatian hotel on the Adriatic, was completed. The Oružana is the first major example of a historic building in Karlovac that they have been able to work on.
“We are glad that we had the opportunity to take part in the project to renovate such a large building in the historic centre, which is finally coming to life with the renovation. It will be really nice when the whole area of Zvijezda is renovated and revitalised,” commented VACON’s project manager Emanuel Škrtić.
RCK protection at the highest level
The installation of a fire alarm system (fire detector) is crucial for the safety of any building. If a fire is detected, the system forwards a signal to the public fire brigade and switches on the sirens in the building. At the same time, it activates the suppressed systems to which it is connected – the smoke and heat extraction system, the sprinkler system – switches off the power and locks/unlocks the doors if necessary.
Active fire protection for users of the RCK building and site is ensured by Elektro-log’s fire detection, smoke extraction and gas warning systems. RCK has installed a high-quality and reliable fire detection system from the world’s leading manufacturer in the field of fire protection – DETNOV – while the smoke extraction system was realised as a solution from the well-known German brand Gretsch-Unitas.
The systems fulfil the relevant standards and requirements of the fire protection study and offer safety and reliability.
You can read the entire article about the renovation of the Karlovac Armoury on the e-gradnje portal.
The materials (texts, photos, graphics, etc.) in this publication are taken from the website egradnja.hr and are the intellectual property of the company T&S d.o.o. Zadar or other legal entities and are protected by copyright.