New laboratory for Department of Chemistry

Campus Groenenborger has gained a new laboratory, a building that forms an important feature of the masterplan for the campus. A green heart and central pedestrian promenade help to make clear that, from now on, pedestrians and cyclists come first.

Campus Groenenborger, adjacent to the Middelheim Museum, is home to the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Applied Engineering.

'We developed a masterplan for the entire Groenenborger campus', explains Prof. Bart Heijnen, UAntwerp’s general director. 'This new lab building, which will house research groups from the Department of Chemistry, will also be home to a central meeting place for everyone on campus.'

The new building was designed by dbv architecten in collaboration with design consultancy firm Arcadis. 'We opted for a design with eight floors, one of which is underground', explains Stefaan Van Heeswyck (dbv architecten). 'In this project, the focus on sustainability is shown by the compact and flexible design of the building, and of course by the use of energy-efficient technologies. For example, the centrally installed heat pumps can be used for both cooling and heating, and any leftover heat and cold can be buffered for later use.'

Pedestrians and cyclists first

A large bicycle parking area is located underneath the new building. This symbolises the modal shift taking place throughout the entire campus. 'From now on, pedestrians and cyclists will come first', says Lieven Willems, head of the Infrastructure Department at UAntwerp. 'We have reconstructed 10,000 m² of parking space in a way that allows water to filter through into the soil below. The campus also has 108 more trees than it did before.'