{"id":122427,"date":"2021-02-03T10:35:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T09:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=122427"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:24:38","slug":"woudestein-to-gain-new-building-with-lots-of-greenery-a-student-living-room-and-earth-wind-and-fire-ventilation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/02\/03\/woudestein-to-gain-new-building-with-lots-of-greenery-a-student-living-room-and-earth-wind-and-fire-ventilation\/","title":{"rendered":"Woudestein to gain new building \u2013 with greenery, a student living room and sustainable ventilation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September 2022, a new building will be opening its doors at Campus Woudestein. It will be erected next to the Polak Building, which it will also resemble in terms of appearance, at the Burgemeester Oudlaan end. Digging is already underway at the site, and the university expects to drive the first foundation pile into the ground in March.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul de Ruiter Architects<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul de Ruiter Architects<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Architect Paul de Ruiter asked students what they\u2019d like to see more of in their study areas. Their answer: greenery. And the students got what they asked for \u2013 in spades. Looking at the artist\u2019s impressions, you\u2019re reminded of the trendy urban jungle that any self-respecting millennial has already been cultivating at home. With hefty planters in the common areas, which are visually extended to the area around the building (albeit with glass in-between), lots of wood and a verdant awning along the fa\u00e7ade. And landscape architect Harro has explicitly opted for flora native to the Rotterdam region. Like the yellow anemone,\u00a0 wild garlic and the mock strawberry.<\/p>\n

Both in terms of its functions and its overall design, the new 8,500-m\u00b2 building could be called an updated version of its future neighbour the Polak Building \u2013 which was also designed by De Ruiter, incidentally. Like Polak, the new \u2018multipurpose education centre\u2019 features an open atrium that will mainly serve as a meeting area. This part of the building also has the most greenery.<\/p>\n

The ground floor will include rooms for collaborative projects as well as the building\u2019s \u2018Living Room\u2019, which students with questions and problems relating to their mental health can visit for support (where required, under the supervision of trained professionals). A similar facility is currently found in the Tinbergen Building, but \u201cit is not yet clear whether the Living Room in the new building will completely replace the existing one in Tinbergen. This also depends on how the renovations of the Tinbergen Building go,\u201d says Marijke Weustink, the University\u2019s Director of Real Estate Services.<\/p>\n

40 million euros<\/h2>
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Floors one to six will house a variety of teaching rooms. \u201cThe higher up you go, the quieter it will be \u2013 that\u2019s the basic idea,\u201d says architect Paul de Ruiter. Marcel Quanz of EUR\u2019s Real Estate & Facilities: \u201cThese are flexible rooms that can easily be expanded or scaled back with the aid of sliding glass dividers. This makes the building future-proof \u2013 in the sense that it can be adapted to whatever teaching format is dominant in a given period. After all, these often change over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to architect Paul de Ruiter, the new building will be completely energy-neutral: the university\u2019s emphatic wish. The roof will be fitted with solar panels.\u00a0Its special ventilation system uses the heat of the sun \u00a0and the wind to ventilate the building itself and is consequently very energy-efficient. According to De Ruiter, its official name is \u2018Powered by Nature\u2019. This will be the first education building to rely on this system.<\/p>\n

The name of the new building will be announced at a later date, says Weustink. \u201cThe total investment in this education building, including construction, will be around 40 million euros. This is completely in line with the Campus in Development programme adopted years ago by EUR\u2019s Executive Board.\u201d The driving of the first pile is scheduled for March, and the project is being handled by Paul de Ruiter Architects in partnership with the contractor BAM.<\/p>\n

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Correction (4 feb., 9.26 am)<\/p>\n

A university employee called the ventilation system the ‘Earth, Wind and Fire’ system in an earlier version of this article, which turns out to be incorrect and has therefore been removed from the story. The only correct designation is ‘Powered by Nature’.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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