The Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) is a unique institute. From all over the world, students and researchers come to Enschede to investigate how to make the world more sustainable. For them, the faculty is a home address, a meeting place and a sustainable symbol. The building houses teaching spaces, labs, a study center, offices, a restaurant and three patio gardens.
The faculty opted not for new construction but for transformation of a former 1972 laboratory. The shell has an extreme length (220m) and depth (38m), a dark, low first floor and a high floor. The new design is all about creating space and light. Not by adding but by taking away: Four atriums – cut out of the structure – provide greenery, fresh air and daylight, making the building suitable for its new use with one intervention. The building stands on a beautiful green campus. The new atrium gardens connect the building to the landscape. They contribute to healthy air and a stress-free workplace. The landscape there is generous, the plants and trees stand in more than a meter of soil.
An Innovative and Sustainable Design
The BNA expert jury praised the architects for their incisive interventions. They have transformed the building from a functional laboratory into an inspiring educational space. The unique dimensions of the building have been turned into an asset and the installation technology has been ingeniously concealed in the floors. By applying heat recovery and solar panels, the building operates energy efficiently. The design with planting provides an attractive indoor climate and atmosphere. The result is a sustainable, flexible and future-proof space. Here students and researchers feel at home and are encouraged to interact and collaborate.
Architect: Civic Architects & VDNDP
Interior architect: Studio Groen+Schild
Photography: Stijn Bollaert
