VU and VUmc are joining forces and will work together in the coming years on the renewal of the VU campus. Josja van der Veer, director of the Facilities Campus Organisation of VU Amsterdam, wants to make the VU Campus an integral part of the city. ‘VU Amsterdam will become extroverted and will make connections with the outside world.’ When Henk Hartzema, urban planner of the Masterplan for the VU Campus, starts the assignment, he finds a large and somewhat introverted complex from the sixties. Consisting of very large buildings in the middle of a stony public space with many cars. What is needed is a future-proof Masterplan to steer the necessary renewal task, with replacement, function mixing and densification, in the right direction.
Collaboration between university and hospital based on content
JvdV: ‘The VU Campus is a joint campus for both the Vrije Universiteit and the VU medical centre. Although we work from two organizations, we work together very intensively in the field of research, education and care. We are developing this as a cohesive area.’
HH: ‘At first I only worked for the VU, then also for VUmc. Over the past three or four years, the future plans for VU Amsterdam and VUmc have grown steadily into each other. Initially, you have to deal with different interests, different motivations and different money flows. Now we continue to grow on the basis of a common ground. Spatially, we now have a foundation on which everyone can get a place in the future.’
JvdV: ‘What binds our organisations together is the strong conviction that we make a substantial contribution to the unique proposition of the knowledge metropolis of Amsterdam. If we really want to develop in terms of knowledge and the societal challenges for the future, we as VU and VUmc simply have to work together. At the intersection of different disciplines, you can only achieve results if you bring them together spatially. This also requires the sharing of facilities. Expensive facilities that you want to share for the sake of efficiency, but also the sharing of facilities to be able to work together. That also requires opportunities to meet.’
HH: ‘As an international university community, VU Amsterdam was naturally extroverted in its planning, looking for exchange between campus and city. The VUmc focuses on care and the environment and dynamics that go with it. These seem to be two completely different worlds, but slowly the two grow into each other. Gradually, a form of planning has emerged that includes both aspects. Both focusing on the primary process of care, research and education, as well as opening the doors and shutters to the outside world, so that interaction between the campus and the city is created.’
JvdV: ‘Working together on the Masterplan contributes to the understanding of the added value we have together and the synergy that arises from it. In that sense, it is a lever for change. The creation of the Masterplan is a catalyst to further shape the collaboration. Not only the collaboration between VU and VUmc, but also the collaboration with the UvA and – in the future – with the AMC.’
Doubling of students, halving of funding
JvdV: ‘At the time, the VU bought a piece of agricultural land here in Buitenveldert from a farmer, literally “outside the fields”. Now the VU campus is part of the highly urban Zuidas. The city has come to us. At the time, fifty years ago, the complex was built in one go for about 12,000 students. We are now seeing a doubling of that number of students and at the same time a halving of the funding per student. We are therefore looking for ways to use space more efficiently. That is only possible if you really innovate substantially. In the new, sustainable concepts that we have come up with for the campus, we will share space. We are going to share space at the regional level, at the level of the campus, but also within the buildings. Sharing space is a way to cushion the increase in costs.’
HH: ‘From the beginning, the idea was that the outdoor space should be given more domesticl quality. In addition, we want to be much more part of the city and become a more recognizable entity. In order to be flexible in use and to accommodate other parties here, more space must also be realized. Furthermore, the buildings must be more recognizable and flexible, so that different functions are interchangeable.’ That sounds simpler than it is. ‘Despite all the advantages, this location also has disadvantages. We have to build very compactly. It’s really proliferating with space, like a sliding puzzle. We want to renovate, but the store will remain open during the renovation. That game is not visible in the end result, but it is very decisive for where we can now take certain innovation steps in area development.’
Long lines, small grain
JvdV: ‘The primary process of education, research and care is leading. VU Amsterdam is “content driven”; It starts with our vision and what this organization wants to achieve. And we are “here to stay”: we have been here for fifty years now and plan to stay for a long time. We therefore look at the long term of the organization and try to align a portfolio strategy of our area development – not only for the real estate, but for the entire area. It must be possible to move flexibly in this.’
HH: ‘Flexibility is not the same as a blank sheet on which everything is still possible. The starting point is the large city boulevards that cut through, connect and make the campus accessible. At the same time, we are creating a smaller-scale network of public spaces, a rhythm of squares, all of which have their own attractiveness, orientation, type of use and size. The public space is extremely important, the thing that will bind us as users of the campus. And at the same time, the master plan must be flexible. The task is to design an urban structure that seduces and at the same time can thicken, expand or discolour sufficiently to be able to go in all directions.’
JvdV: ‘The concept for the VU Campus is therefore primarily based on a mix of urban functions and a very high quality of stay. We want buildings of a smaller grain. So that they are easier to phase and adapt, but also of a more human scale.’
HH: ‘By opting for a smaller grain of buildings, we are striving for more flexibility. There are now two buildings of 100,000 m2 on campus. They may seem flexible – because you can still go in all directions with them – but a smaller volume is easier to redevelop and reuse. Because both the (re)development, the financing and the exchange offer more flexibility in the long run. We are creating a sustainable campus whose structure can last an eternity, so to speak. The individual buildings, which are admittedly very specific, will also be able to be used flexibly in terms of layout, building system and climate control.’
Campus without borders
HH: ‘The Zuidas is based on a grid and therefore has a certain neutrality. From the VU campus, we want to add special places to this and enrich neutrality in place making. It is a unique campus, the only one in the Netherlands that has no boundaries. Other campuses are framed in one way or another and or are located outside the city. You often see on campuses, also abroad, that the identity is derived from that boundary. We want to connect to the environment. Because we have no external border – we have deliberately omitted it – we are our minds
for central, identity-defining places for the campus. That has become, for example, the campus square.’
JvdV: ‘We are committed to a strong relationship between inside and outside, the buildings and the public space merge seamlessly. Our buildings are super-public, both in terms of experience and hospitality. We want to be a hospitable and liveable campus.’ Various functions are also mixed in the area. ‘Housing is essential for the mix of functions and the liveliness of the area. That’s why it’s important to have student housing on campus. Concrete locations have already been devised for this. We would like people to live on the central campus square.’
Facilitating cooperation
JvdV: ‘We look at the VU campus from the perspective of “total cost of ownership”, to which we try to add value in collaboration and from the content. The land is owned by the VU and of course we also do the exploitation of the buildings. We also have our own energy supply, which we are currently making more sustainable. This is for the entire campus, including the VUmc. We also already share the parking facilities with each other.’ A significant part of the available floor space is rented out to third parties. ‘At the moment, the university has about 350,000-360,000 m2 of real estate. About a third of this is used by parties that collaborate with VU or VUmc on the VU campus. In our new 0|2 building, which is dedicated to life sciences, researchers from third parties or external R&D parties who are doing a joint research project with our researchers can use a space in the building for their research. Making space available is not an end in itself, it is mainly a means to enable collaboration.’
Jeroen Mensink interviews Josja van der Veer and Henk Hartzema, Go Gebiedsontwikkeling in beweging, September 2015
