The Atlas building of the Eindhoven University of Technology was built in 1959–1963 according to the design of Samuel van Embden. Nowadays, the building no longer met the standards for the state of engineering systems, layout, functionality, however, due to its historical and cultural value, the university administration decided to reconstruct, not demolish. The project by Team V Architectuur and the engineering bureaus of Van Rossum, Valstar Simonis and Peutz was developed as part of a program to transform a rather closed university campus into an open science park of an international level.
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zooming View of the main building of TU Eindhoven before reconstruction Photo: daveboy via flickr.com / Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic License
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zooming View of the main building of TU Eindhoven before reconstruction Photo: Arno van den Tillaart via flickr.com / Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License
The original concrete surfaces in the interior were emphasized by the new bright red staircase, which almost does not touch the floors, penetrating into the existing openings. Common areas are organized around it - lecture halls and classrooms for practical exercises. Also, a staircase connects two faculties located at opposite ends of the building.
The triple glass façade, when its integrated louvers are lowered, is comparable in thermal performance to an insulated hollow wall. On summer nights, panoramic windows open to naturally cool and ventilate the premises.
The authors of the project, together with the University Institute of Smart Lighting, have developed an economical LED system with low illumination level. It also acts as an experimental setup to test different modes and collect data for research. Users can control the lamps using an app on their smartphone, in the same way it is possible to adjust the temperature in the room or book a meeting room.
The Atlas building with an area of 41.5 thousand m2 received the highest BREEAM certificate - "Outstanding": it became the first renovated educational institution in the Netherlands with this level of sustainability. Now Team V Architectuur is working on two similar projects - other buildings by van Embden at TU Eindhoven: Laplace (1972, 12 thousand m2) and Gemini (1974, 34 thousand m2).
