Our campus buildings at the University of Twente are vibrant and inspiring spaces we take great pride in Sustainability is at the core of our efforts, from implementing eco-friendly measures to constructing sustainable buildings. The newly renovated Langezijds building is a beautiful example: a year and a half of work has gone into the sustainable transformation of the building.
At 220 metres long the Langezijds building is one of the longest buildings in the Netherlands. From April 2023, the 13,783 m2 building houses the students and staff of UT's Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC).
Langezijds is one of the most sustainable buildings on campus. Besides going from energy label G to A+++, it is a transparent and future-proof building that houses teaching spaces, laboratories, a large study centre, offices and a food-work café in the social heart of Langezijds. Almost 1,000 solar panels have been installed on the roof. The former engineering hall is still recognizable thanks to the visible preservation of the raw concrete and steel construction, lots of glass and hundreds of laminated oak window frames.
There has been one crucial intervention: through large cuts, three brand-new atriums provide greenery, daylight, fresh air and form a biotope for flora and fauna. Langezijds has ‘green lungs’: three atriums with courtyard gardens, each with its own signature (stone, wood and water). These are connected to two 'green lungs'. In each garden, infiltration crates of 25m3 store rainwater which is then used for drip irrigation. Plants that are present elsewhere in the building can be watered from the surplus storage. Remarkably, almost every room looks out onto greenery. Langezijds has become a striking building that encourages encounters and inspires.
