Staff trapped in renovation chaos on Frederiksberg campus

It’s been a hot couple of months for staff at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences (PLEN) on Frederiksberg Campus — at least for those housed in the brutalist building that is simply referred to as Højhuset, or the Tower Block.

Parts of the building at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) have been wrapped in thick plastic throughout the summer. Now two-thirds of the structure is sealed off.

The façade is being renovated, and when tests revealed the presence of the toxic chemical PCB in the concrete, the area had to be sealed off during drilling, explains Augusta Szameitat, health and safety representative at PLEN.

»It was initially decided that an area ten metres from the drilling sites should be sealed off, so that staff would not be exposed to toxic dust. But this decision wasn’t followed. They drilled without plastic sheeting on the floors above and below, and they put plastic up in places where no drilling was taking place. In the end, they just sealed off everything,« she says.

Now, four out of the six sections of the six-story building are completely wrapped in plastic — and it’s causing big problems for staff.

»The noise is intense, and we get no information about when it will happen. It makes it impossible to plan work, meetings, even oral exams. Many are forced to move from one office to another to escape the noise,« says Augusta Szameitat.

»There is no ventilation in the offices, and we can’t open the windows or doors. People are complaining about headaches, fatigue, and low energy. It’s simply draining and demotivating to be here, because the indoor climate and natural light are so badly affected by the plastic coverings.«

Nicotine-yellow plastic

Staff representative Niels Agerbirk says the poor air quality and lack of light due to the plastic sheeting is a major concern among staff.

»Every time you enter an office, people roll their eyes. We can’t open the windows, and it’s dark inside because the daylight has to filter through nicotine-yellow plastic.«

He stresses that he understands the need for drilling, and appreciates the effort to protect staff through shielding. What he criticises is the lack of communication.

I don’t understand why they’re working on the whole building at once instead of completing one section at a time

Staff representative Niels Agerbirk

»We haven’t been told when the plastic will be taken down again. I don’t understand why they’re working on the whole building at once instead of completing one section at a time. As it is now, the entire building is sealed off.«

Augusta Szameitat agrees with the criticism:

»It’s a huge problem that we’re not informed when drilling will happen, or when the renovation will end and the plastic is taken down. We get no information,« she says.

The construction noise makes it difficult for staff to work in the building.

»It’s impossible to plan meetings or get work done, and many are forced to move around between offices to escape the noise. If you’re in an office where they’re drilling right outside, you can’t hear what people are saying. It’s so loud you can’t even have a conversation,« she says.

Couldn’t doing more remote work solve the problem?

»Some people can work from home, but not everyone. We have lots of meetings and a lot of lab work. And the policy on remote work is still that it should be limited as much as possible and subject to agreement with immediate supervisors. My impression is that those who asked to work from home were allowed to. Perhaps management could have extended the permission for remote work, but that wouldn’t solve the problem that most of my colleagues work in laboratories and need to be physically present,« she says.

Critical lab measurements

Health and safety representative Augusta Szameitat says the renovation also affects the research work being carried out in the building. In the labs, staff work with expensive equipment that is affected by the vibrations from drilling, which can ruin measurements.

»When we don’t know when drilling will take place, we risk losing readings. A few times we’ve had to ask the workers to wait before drilling so we could finish a measurement,« she says.

When we don’t know when drilling will take place, we risk losing readings

Augusta Szameitat, health and safety representative at PLEN

Augusta Szameitat emphasises that both local management and campus services have tried to find solutions, but that communication with those who are responsible higher-up at UCPH has been very difficult.

»We have no idea who to contact. I think it’s unacceptable that we’re not informed about when the noise will occur, because it makes it impossible for us to plan our work. I wish local management and the health and safety organisation were consulted before, and during, renovation projects like this where the air quality deteriorates significantly and the noise disturbance is so intense,« she says.

She has contacted management and requested a timeline for when the work will be completed, and also suggested that the workers finish one side of the building at a time to avoid having everything sealed off all at once.

UCPH building unit: This is why we did it

Bjarne Ernst Hellmann is special consultant at the UCPH planning and building unit and is responsible for the concrete renovation at Frederiksberg Campus. He says he understands the frustration over the noise and the lack of light and fresh air. But he stresses that the plastic sheeting was necessary to protect staff from PCB, which has been found in all the joints between the concrete elements.

»I completely understand that it’s unpleasant to have noise right around you while you’re trying to work. In connection with the PCB joint work, we covered the façades with plastic to prevent the substance from spreading indoors.«

Why weren’t staff informed about where and when drilling and sealing would take place, so they could plan accordingly?

»I can’t deny that we could have communicated better. We’ve sent out three user information notices about the project and the timelines, but it’s been difficult to say exactly when the drilling would happen.«

I can see now that it might have been done differently

Special consultant Bjarne Ernst Hellmann, UCPH planning and building unit

When the building is sealed on all sides, it’s impossible for staff to let in fresh air and improve the indoor climate. Why not do one section at a time instead of wrapping the whole building?

»In the early phase, it was necessary to lift elements over the building’s roof with a large crane, and that’s why we had to work on both sides at once. Setting up, and taking down, scaffolding and plastic costs about half a million kroner, so we chose to cover the whole building and keep it like that. I can see now that it might have been done differently.«

Did you consult with the local health and safety representatives?

»No. We involved the university’s central health and safety team and our regular consultant Dansk Miljøanalyse to conduct hazard assessments. We believed this was sufficient, but maybe we should have included local staff as well.«

The light will soon shine in again

When can staff expect the plastic coverings to come down?

»It’s being removed gradually. In the two weeks following 22 September, the scaffolding and plastic on the first façade of building 71 will come down. Based on user feedback, we’re considering whether to change the process so we can work faster and avoid having the whole building sealed off for the remainder of the project. But it’s a budget issue, so I can’t make that decision on my own.«

Staff report headaches, fatigue and poor air quality. What have you done to prevent this?

»Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do much. It turned out that the office spaces on one side of the building have no ventilation, and that’s a challenge we haven’t been able to solve.«

Several staff members say they don’t know who to contact. Why isn’t there a contact person?

»In the user information we’ve sent to everyone in the two buildings, both the helpdesk and my name are listed. But perhaps not everyone has read the information.«

The health and safety representative calls the communication unacceptable — what’s your response to that?

»If that’s how she feels, then I can only apologise. I don’t think it’s been completely off the mark, but I can see that it hasn’t been sufficient.«

What can staff expect now?

»We have a plan. In one to two weeks time, we’ll begin to take down the plastic on building 71. We’re also considering limiting the plastic sheeting to one side at a time in future, but it depends on the financial framework.«

This article was first written in Danish and published on 23 September. It has been translated into English and post-edited by Mike Young.