The Maintenance Service is in charge of the maintenance and conservation of the building, of all its facilities and of the equipment. It works since the year 1991, when the Institute moved to the new building. It is also responsible for the equipment, materials and tools of the Center: mechanic, electronic and electric equipment, available to the personnel of the Institue.
The safety and protection plan for ICMAB was finished in 2016 by the Safety & Hygiene Comission. The plan involved the update of the building doors for fire emergencies, and the opening of an additional door from the kitchen to the outside terrace. During the year, the Safety & Hygiene Comission organizes seminars on waste management, and is in charge of the fire drills of the Building.
Restructuration of spaces
During 2016 this service was busy in the restructuration of the laboratories and offices, because after the CSIC, UAB and Air Products agreement, the ICMAB occupied a part of the MATGAS building, and some of the Scientific Services were moved there: the Atomic Force Microscopy lab (AFM) and the Soft Lab.
In addition, due to the new ERC granted projects, some new laboratories were created at the MATGAS building: a shared laboratory for ERC projects of M. Campoy-Quiles and A. Mihi, a second one for M. Campoy-Quiles, A. Mihi, A. Goñi and N. Crivillers, another one with the Supercritical MATGAS equipment and the Soft Lab, and there is the prevision of creating new laboratories for the ERC projects from T. Puig, G. Tobias and N. Aliaga-Alcalde.
In addition, in the second and third floor of MATGAS, some offices for PhD, postdoc and permanent researchers were enabled, as well as common tables for undergrad students. In a near future, the MATGAS hall will also be remodeled to include two offices with a total of 8-10 tables for PhD and postdoctoral researchers, and the rest will be enabled as a Scientific Communication area, close to the cafeteria and with enough space to do small talks and demos for school visits and general public: comfortable chairs and tables are allocated, and the posters describing the five research lines are visible on the wall.
The use of the MATGAS building also implied restructuration of the laboratories and offices at the ICMAB building. The AFM lab was converted to a laboratory for the groups of X. Granados and J.L. García Muñoz, which at the same time leave space for the groups of J. Fontcuberta and A. Pérez. Other spaces enabled for the group of C. Ocal with A. Goñi moving to MATGAS, and the group of J. Veciana reorganized the laboratories and acquired new extraction cupboards for volatile solvents. Moreover, R. Rurali and G. Tobias have now an individual office and E. Gyorgy and A. Pérez share one.
The ICMAB kitchen was also remodeled, and there is a plan to build a new terrace outdoors to enable more space for tables and chairs for lunchtime and to adequate the common spaces to add more tables and spaces for students.
