The Polak building has been closed for almost a week. Since no date has been set for its reopening, the university has to explore other options to compensate for the loss of study spaces and shop locations in the building. It turns out this is easier said than done.
Around six hundred students could be accommodated in the Polak Building’s study facilities prior to the building’s closure. And even though there have been frequent complaints about the building in the past, it was a popular location for studying. To limit the demands made on the electrical outlets and computers in the new University Library, the university is busy looking for new study spaces.
The first steps have already been taken. The G Building (with the exception of the ESL study landscape) now has the same opening times as the Polak Building, and since this morning, seventy new study spaces have been opened on the ground floor of the Sanders Building. “More will be added during the week,” said EUR spokeswoman Sandra van Beek.
Shops
The search for new locations for the Studystore book shop, the Canon copy shop, Hair Design by Lydia and the Randstad employment agency has been less successful. These shops, located in the plinth, have also been closed since Thursday evening. To date, a new location on campus has not been found. “It’s not easy,” explained Van Beek. “We have to sort out a lot of different things and that’s not something that can be done in just a couple of days. We hope we’ll know more in the course of this week.”
It should be noted that the closure of the Polak Building does not mean that everyone is barred from entering the premises. There is still a trickle of students and others (led by guides) to be found in the hallways. “Some of them are there to empty their lockers, while others have gone in to remove the milk from the coffee machines.”
Two weeks
No date has been set yet for reopening the building. On Friday the Executive Board announced that the Polak Building would definitely be closed for another two weeks. According to Van Beek, this timeframe hasn’t changed. “Expectations are that it will not be possible to open the building any sooner.”
