The beginning of the end

Pre-clinic demolition in Graz enters the hot phase

The 36-metre-long telescopic arm of the demolition excavator goes to work on the former pre-clinic building. Over the next three months, the demolition will take place in three stages and lay the foundation stone for the new Graz Center of Physics. 

There is already nothing left of the surrounding preclinical buildings - the lecture hall wing, the anatomy rooms and the dentistry department. They were already razed to the ground in autumn 2023. On Tuesday, the demolition of the old pre-clinic building was also heralded. Over the next three months, the demolition work above ground will be completed in three phases by the end of May, starting with the western wing along Goethestrasse. 

A demolition excavator with a 36-metre telescopic arm will be used to demolish the pre-clinic tower. However, it is not long enough to reach the lifts on the roof of the high-rise building, so an additional twelve-metre high ramp was built. The building is now being demolished floor by floor. 

Basis for the new building
If everything goes according to plan, the underground demolition will start in the summer. The securing of the excavation pit is also the first step for the new building. Andreas Schweiger, press spokesman for the University of Graz, told the "Steirerkrone" newspaper: "The future physics laboratories in the basement will be built on a thick concrete slab to prevent vibrations and protect the highly sensitive equipment."

Construction of the new physics institute is set to begin in fall 2024. "Some of the building material that will be demolished will also be recycled for the new Graz Center of Physics," says Schweiger.