The student centre as vibrant heart of any University Campus and the concept behind Student Center for the Erasmus University Campus by the collaboration of Powerhouse Company and De Zwarte Hond is no exception. The new center will be the heart of a new masterplan of the university campus in Rotterdam, Netherlands as a vibrant and central meeting point where research meets business and science meets culture.
Read on for more after the break.
Sustainability, usability, transparency and intimacy are the main objectives for the design of this Student Center where the design promotes spontaneous use because it seamlessly connects to the surrounding public space, according to Nanne de Ru of Powerhouse Company. A logistical core is located in the centre of the building and is enclosed by a range of public spaces. On top of this core Powerhouse Company and De Zwarte Hond designed a multipurpose auditorium that offers room for lectures, performances and debates. The clever arrangement of functions creates flexibility in use. Willem Hein Schenk of De Zwarte Hond attributes the use of the core as a central space to freeing the facade to be transparent and available for public use.
Nanne de Ru: ”Through opening or closing the dynamic lamellas the users can determine how much daylight is coming in. On the one hand this leads to a reduction of the energy consumption but it also enables them to adjust the level of intimacy within the building. Because the appearance of the building changes, the lively nature of the student center becomes visible.” The student center can be intimate on a Monday morning and both very open and vibrant on a Friday evening. Willem Hein Schenk: “The student centre will get a very transparent nature and offers a great view to the new campus. Because of the transparent facade it also connects directly to the surrounding area.”
To increase the sustainability of the building Powerhouse Company and De Zwarte Hond researched and designed various measures to achieve a high degree of insulation of the transparent facade (triple layered), a compact building volume, positioning the (energetic) mass in the centre core and a careful orientation of the program towards the sun. Furthermore the building will be equipped with dynamical blinds, natural and demand-driven ventilation and flexible zoning. The remaining required energy will be generated by solar panels on the roof of the building.
Construction will start beginning of 2012 and the expected opening of the student center is end of 2013.
