Repairs of the X building will start in February
- The Operational Services are creating a new housing plan.
- In this plan the campus will be more tightly arranged and the D building finally demolished.
The masterplan for the campus didn’t have an elaborate housing plan for the coming years. “Now that the reparations of the X building are close, we’d like to quickly get started with those”, says director Operational Services Pieter Dieckmann, who also coordinates the developments surrounding the X building.
The closure of the X building showed that the Campus needs less space than expected. “We’re missing a building of about eighteen thousand square metres, so when the X building is in use again, we should be able to go without the D building (seven thousand square metres).” That the D building should finally be demolished was already anticipated for years, but the demolishment was continuously postponed. The Housing Department started creating a new housing plan this month. The first step in this is a tighter arrangement of the X building, which means that not everyone will return to their old spot. The use of other buildings will also be analysed.
The next step is taking a look at where the Windesheim Honours College and the Test Centre, which are currently in the D building, could go. Dieckmann: “In any case, we want the WHC to remain on the campus.” Next, the Housing department will take a look at whether the B and C buildings could be renovated starting from 2019. During that renovation some users will possibly get a temporary education- and workplace in the D building. After that, D will be demolished. Dieckmann wants to submit several interior and house concepts to the degree programmes and departments this spring.
The main contractor that built X, Trebbe B.V., has now been held responsible by Windesheim. The University of Applied Sciences has incurred seven to eight tonnes of damage.
Repairs of the X building seem to be possible before the summer. Dieckmann expects the stage to start in February: “The constructor, ABT Wassenaar, is currently working on the solution of solidifying the floors so that the building meets the most recent safety guidelines. The recommendations are to be expected this month.”
For term 4 there are enough classrooms made available. The programme team conducted a mini survey under employees and students where was asked what they noticed with regards to the X building closing. It was made evident that the pressure on the study halls was still an issue. “Luckily, we can see that more people are finding their way to the more quiet buildings E,F and G. Overall there is a lot of understanding for the situation and the rush at for example the parking lots, catering and bathrooms. Careful monitoring will continue. On January 29 we will be making a round through the building and then we will converse with students and teachers.” (EM)
