A budget of 54 million euros will soon be allocated to the University of Côte d’Azur for its public building energy renovation project… What should we expect from one of the oldest faculties in Nice?
Last December, the Carlone campus faced a heating problem.
Interviewed by France Bleu, many students complained about the freezing cold (about ten degrees Celsius) that prevailed in the amphitheaters.
They even reported having to keep their winter coats… and even their gloves on during classes.
The heritage director then stated that the literature faculty was dealing with a heating and insulation problem.
Thanks to the established energy renovation plan, these insulation – and heating – issues should finally be resolved. Indeed, the work planned for Carlone will start in June and will mainly focus on the facades, which should be renovated and better insulated. Sun-blocking grills and high-performance energy windows will also be installed.
Finally, photovoltaic panels will be installed, the lighting will be changed and replaced by LEDs, and vegetative islands will be created.
For the communication director of the University of Côte d’Azur, “it is part of the university’s social responsibility to engage in sustainable development.”
Although changes are finally planned for the letters, arts, and humanities campus, according to some students, it’s not enough.
Nesrine and Célia, two final-year undergraduate students at the faculty, deem the “insulation work necessary, even vital.”
“We freeze in winter and sweat in summer… this leads to concentration problems, especially during exams…,” sighs Célia.
With regard to the conditions inside the buildings, the students point out a state of disrepair: “there are holes, cracks in the walls, and water leaks, it really doesn’t make you want to attend classes!”
They also mention a lack of IT equipment in the classrooms: “Many rooms have faulty projectors or don’t have them at all… Sometimes we lose 20 to 25 minutes at the start of each class as professors try to deal with the situation.”
Listening to the students’ comments, the director of communication seeks to be reassuring: “this energy renovation plan is a first step towards modernization, which will later trigger, I imagine, work that might be more noticeable aesthetically, but for now, what matters to us is the comfort of our students.”
While the situation seems different on other campuses, the two students reveal a feeling of injustice. “We feel like the forgotten cause of the university… When you look at the science, law faculties, or even Polytech… it’s not the same at all!,” laments Célia.
Sorry to hear this perception, the heritage director refutes the idea of any system of privilege and maintains that there is no connection to the courses offered but only with the age of the building. According to him, “the future also depends on students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.”
Closed parking and missing spaces: the internal problems of the faculty seem to hide others…
Since the end of June 2021, the faculty’s parking lot has remained closed due to a risk of collapse.
Students are thus forced to park their vehicles far from the campus or in unauthorized spaces.
And for many of them, the renovation of the parking lot should be a priority at Carlone.
“We can’t park, sometimes I have to come an hour before class starts to hope to find a spot,” Nesrine tells us.
Fines and towing, the student also denounces a lack of leniency from the municipality: “the police officers have no qualms… they know we are students and that we are facing a parking problem, yet they are constantly patrolling around the campus. I’ve already received several fines since returning from the Winter holidays.”
Asked about the parking issue, the campus administrative director responds that a partial reopening is under study: “we are in contact with a technical office evaluating the number of cars that the aerial parking could accommodate.”
She adds that they are considering other solutions, like opening the faculty’s staff-reserved parking to some students: “we are working with students to determine how many cars our parking can accommodate and under what criteria we might open it.”
The municipality, on its part, encourages students to use park-and-ride facilities and then travel by tram and bus.
Regarding the potential renovation of the parking, the director affirms that the university is aware of the issue faced by students but that “the sums and work involved with this parking are enormous” and that it, therefore, takes time “to find a solution.”
“It’s been like this for 60 years, we can’t change everything in one year, but the intent is there,” she concludes.
