UU investigates whether twelve buildings can be disposed of

It is no secret that Utrecht University has to make cutbacks: this year, 35 million euros must be saved, rising to 70 to 80 million euros in 2029. The fall of the cabinet does not change this for the time being. The UU believes it can make a big difference by reducing its accommodation costs. To this end, all 150 buildings currently used by the university have been examined. This resulted in a list of twelve buildings that are being investigated for possible disposal.

Fewer buildings means savings on rent, maintenance, energy, water, security and cleaning, according to the memo to the University Council entitled “Responsible investment in buildings: an overview of the challenges”. These are plans that look ahead to the next 15 years or so. The plans, which are still to be discussed in more detail, therefore herald a process that will take years.

Muntstraat-2a Kromme Nieuwgracht 20-22 Photo: Tobias Mathijsen,  Utrecht University

Terminating leases
The plans are comprehensive and, in some cases, far-reaching. It was already clear that Utrecht University would be retaining its three campuses. The plans for the faculties of Law, Economics, Governance & Organisation and Humanities were also already known. In the university board's preferred scenario, the building on Bijlhouwerstraat and the connected building on Kromme Nieuwgracht-Munststraat would be sold. The full plans now reveal that the possibility of selling more buildings is being explored.

This concerns the rented educational buildings at Daltonlaan 500, Janskerkhof 15A and Israëlslaan. When the leases expire, they will not be renewed by the UU, but the possibility of terminating the leases earlier is also being investigated. Other rented buildings will remain for the time being. These include the section of Bolognalaan where the student administrators of Pnyx are moving, the logistics hub on Winthonlaan and the Niki, the Netherlands Interuniversity Art History Institute in Florence, Italy.

Israëlslaan Photo Streetview

Kruisstraat and young monuments
The university is also investigating whether properties owned by the UU can be sold off. This does not necessarily mean that the buildings will be sold. Demolition and rental are also options.

In addition to the aforementioned building of the Department of Governance & Organisation and the Department of Media & Culture Studies in the city centre, the buildings under consideration include the Boothstraat, which houses Campus & Facilities staff, Janskerkhof 30, which is the office of Utrecht Summer School, the Vening Meinesz Building C at Utrecht Science Park, where Utrecht Inc has just moved, the Dining Hall on the International Campus and the Parnassos building on Kruisstraat. If the properties are sold, the various departments, including the cultural centre, will be relocated elsewhere within the university.

It is striking that the future of the Kruyt Building is once again being reviewed. The science building, which houses many laboratories, is set to undergo extensive renovation after years of planning. The building must be emptied before this can happen. The science departments will move to other buildings and return to the Kruyt after the renovation. The UU is now investigating whether it is advisable to keep the Kruyt building. The renovation is expensive and various scenarios are being investigated to see if the costs can be reduced. One of the options is not to allow the science departments to return. Like the Dining Hall, the Kruyt building is a municipal monument, which means that any changes to the appearance of the building must be discussed with the municipality.

Hugo R. Kruytgebouw. Photo: Harold van de Kamp, Utrecht University

Revised building plans
Construction plans are also being modified. It was previously announced that the circular pavilion that was to become the new entrance to the Botanical Gardens will not go ahead. There will also be no new building for the student councils currently housed in Pnyx. Olympos also has a blow to deal with. New construction is off the table and the UU is looking at how to save on the relatively high costs while retaining the sports facilities. In addition, the UU is looking at where savings can be made on ongoing construction, renovation and maintenance projects. This includes new construction plans that have already been given the green light but are not yet being implemented. These include the new building for the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, for example.

Education and major reduction in office space
In addition to a 10 per cent reduction in teaching space, which will require more efficient scheduling, around 10 per cent of storage space will also be lost.

Unused reception and restaurant space will be repurposed. The biggest savings will be in office space, which will shrink by 40 per cent. Currently, 80,000 square metres are in use, which will be reduced by about 4.5 football fields.

Office workers will notice that it will become busier on the floor and that they will have to share spaces more often. Activity-based working will be implemented, which means that “personal workstations” will no longer exist in the future, unless this is absolutely necessary for the work or the employee.

The downsizing has already begun. A major relocation operation is underway in the Administration Building, one wing of which has been leased to UMC Utrecht. Around fifty employees from the Centre for Academic Teaching (CAT) and a dozen employees from the Audiovisual Service, all of whom were based on Bolognalaan, are moving to the Administration Building.

Still to be decided
What will happen to the two vacant buildings on Nicolaaskerkhof in the Museum Quarter is unclear and depends on the decision on how the accommodation in the city centre will be organised. The buildings were purchased a few years ago when the UU still assumed that the International Campus site would be sold and the two buildings could serve as replacements. However, these buildings may also be sold.

Nicolaaskerkhof 12 Photo: Dick Boetekees, Utrecht University

Plans that will go ahead
The University Board has also decided which renovation and construction plans will go ahead. This concerns fifteen projects. One of these is the Van Unnik building, which will house the University Executive Services and the Faculty of Social Sciences after renovation.

Once the service and the faculty have moved, the Langeveld, the Sjoerd Groenmangebouw and the Bestuursgebouw will be sold off. Greenhouses will be replaced in the Botanical Gardens, where part of the research of the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre (NPEC), currently still housed in the black cube in front of the Kruytgebouw, will be relocated.

Another part of the research that UU conducts in collaboration with Wageningen University will move to the so-called Transition Building, which the university will rent and to which more researchers from the Kruyt will move. It is therefore unclear whether the science departments will return to the Kruyt.

These plans will be discussed in the University Council.