A FUTURE-PROOF, SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS

The project designed by UNStudio is a new energy-generating inter-faculty teaching building at TU Delft.

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Project: Echo, Delft, Netherlands; Architects: UNStudio

Considering the ever-increasing student numbers, combined with the need for more education space, the new inter-faculty building for TU Delft is designed to meet the leading Dutch university's need for flexible extra teaching space now and in the future. The architects collaborated with Arup and BBN to create a design that fully supports different educational typologies and teaching methods with an energy-generating building in which adaptability and the well-being of the user are central.

The project offers a wide variety of teaching rooms to cater for the diversity of teaching methods and study styles at the university. It is designed to promote physical, psychological and social health.

"The Echo building teaches by example. In this highly compact building, the use of space is maximised, while bringing students from different disciplines in closer contact. Not only can they condense their learning experience and learn from each other, but they can also learn from the building itself," said Ben van Berkel.

A HEALTHY CAMPUS BUILDING - FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET

As the most sustainable building at the TU Delft, the project is contributing to the university's ambitions to operate a fully sustainable campus by 2030. As many as 1200 solar panels, smart installations, good insulation and a hot and cold storage system ensure that the project will be able to provide more energy than it requires for its daily operations. This includes user-related energy, such as electricity consumption for laptops, lighting and catering. Ninety per cent of the furniture used in the building has also been reused.