The University of South Bohemia (USB) has completed the construction of an auditorium on the USB campus in České Budějovice. This opens a long-awaited representative space for matriculation, graduation, prestigious conferences and academic and social events. The modern environment and technical equipment will allow USB to host domestic and international professional meetings in the heart of the campus, invite exceptional guests and personalities and organize trainings and workshops in the most suitable project space. The USB auditorium alone can accommodate 250 people.
The modern auditorium has been built on the footprint of the original building that has stood on the USB campus since 1993. It was used for social purposes and partly as a health centre, and later also for accommodation. In 2014, after minor modifications, a HELP centre and a student radio were built in the building.
The renovation of the auditorium began in July 2022 and was completed after more than three years. Only the load-bearing structure of the west wing of the original building was preserved, the rest of the building was completely rebuilt. All the equipment in the auditorium is also brand new.
"The new auditorium opens up possibilities for the University of South Bohemia that we have only dreamed of so far. It is a beautiful, dignified and representative space equipped with state-of-the-art technology, where we can plan important educational, scientific and social events. In addition to the Great Hall, the building also houses a television and podcast studio and a communications area where I see great potential for use, especially by students and student societies. All these possibilities increase the prestige of our university, because the auditorium offers a unique place of its kind not only for the USB, but also for the regional city and the whole region," describes the rector of the USB Pavel Kozák.
The auditorium will serve as a background for USB service departments, project spaces for training and workshops. It will be used by all faculties and university student associations.
"It was an honour for us to participate in the reconstruction of this important building of the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and to create a modern space for education and cultural life. I believe that the newly reconstructed auditorium will witness important academic and social events. I wish the auditorium to become a centre of inspiration, meeting and development for future generations of students and the entire academic community. I thank our implementation team and all partners for their high commitment and professional approach, without which today's successful handover would not have been possible," adds the CEO of the construction company EDIKT a.s. Tomáš Votava.
The reconstruction of the auditorium is the largest completed investment of the USB this year. It cost 251 516 000 CZK. 85% of this investment was covered by a subsidy from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
