Universities - Cause still unclear after lecture hall ceiling collapses
Following the collapse of the ceiling of a lecture hall at Marburg's Philipps University, the search for the cause of the accident continues. The structural analysis of the building is still ongoing and the structural engineer is expected to report back in the course of the week, said a university spokeswoman on Tuesday. This would determine whether the building could be reopened or would have to remain closed. The affected lecture hall is likely to be unusable for a year, during which time clean-up and renovation work will be carried out.
The damage to the historic building, which houses part of the law faculty, was initially estimated to be worth at least six figures. No further details were available on Tuesday.
On Sunday night, a wooden coffered ceiling collapsed in the lecture hall of the so-called Landgrafenhaus, which was built in 1924 and is one of the larger lecture halls at the university with around 400 seats. No one was injured as no one was in the building at the time. University President Thomas Nauss expressed relief that no one was injured in the incident. The university is working hard to find out the cause of the accident and wants to start cleaning up as soon as possible.
The building is currently closed to users and courses have been rescheduled or are taking place online this week. The building houses several lecture halls and seminar rooms as well as offices of the Faculty of Law. It is primarily used for courses in the Law and Economics departments.
Read also:
Source: www.stern.de
