It looks as if the façade of the Forum will be decorated with a pretty pattern. Horizontal lines with regular intervals in between will be added all around the building. This will be done by first removing a row of bricks. But enquiries revealed that this work has nothing to do with aesthetics. It is needed because the Forum is being plagued by heat and cold.
Little cracks
When buildings ‘work’, they are affected by temperature. They shrink and expand. This is taken into account during construction. But such efforts seem to have fallen short in the case of the Forum, and small cracks are visible in many parts of its façade. To prevent these from getting worse, the façade needs to be made more elastic, explains Ludy Zeeuwen of Facilities & Services.
Elastic
After a row of bricks is removed, it will be replaced by a row of smaller bricks with a wider and elastic filling. The filling should make the building more resilient. Work has begun this week on the north and the west faces. Drilling causes noise pollution and is therefore being carried out now during the autumn break.
Disturbance
The filling will be done next week, says Zeeuwen. Drilling will continue in the week after on the east face and the south face behind which the library is located. During drilling, no examinations will be held, says Zeeuwen. Afterwards, the new row of bricks will be laid. The work will therefore certainly last another three weeks.