Workers from Kruyt to be relocated to former SRON building and new lab building
Photo: DUB
Earlier this year, the Executive Board reconsidered its intention to renovate the Kruyt building in an occupied state. This plan, in which parts of the building would be renovated one by one while researchers continued to work there, was met with considerable resistance. Workers feared the nuisance would be significant and lengthy.
On closer inspection, the Executive Board opted for a shorter renovation, tackling the entire building at once. This means that the researchers will have to leave the building for several years. The moving procedure was announced last week.
Cutting the knot
The idea is to move part of the workers from the Kruyt building to the former site of the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), three years from now. SRON is now based in Leiden. Their former headquarters were bought from UU, but the building needs to be thoroughly modernised before it can be taken into use.
The rest of the employees will move to a new building in five years. Said building will be situated on the same spot as the Earth Sciences building which is now being demolished. An external party is going to be responsible for raising the new building, after which UU will rent part of the space.
The aforementioned plan is going to be elaborated over the next few months. The Executive Board planning on meeting in October to decide whether this is, in fact, the best solution for the issue.
Communication problems
Researchers working in the Kruyt building have repeatedly told DUB that they would prefer a single move to a new building. They think moving twice would be cumbersome, not to mention it could put the progress of their research at risk.
They have also been very annoyed with the way the university has communicated with them about this over the years. A message on the Intranet (accessible to those with a Solis ID, Ed.) describes the latest developments and promises to improve communication moving forward. This week, for example, staff members working in the Kruyt building can submit questions to the project team at the reception. They are welcome to do so between noon and 2:00 pm.