Erik Geelen is full of facts and anecdotes on the history of present-day TU/e. In 1987, he started working at the university library and has since increasingly specialized in image archiving. As such, he knows exactly how the face of the campus has changed over the years.

For all photos in the article, click to enlarge.

Main Building

Construction of Atlas, then matter-of-factly known as the Main Building, began shortly after the halls were built. Prime Minster Willem Drees personally travelled down south to drive the first pile into the ground. This building’s architecture was equally as innovative, says Geelen. “At the time, there were hardly any tall buildings in our country with walls that were almost entirely made of glass – so-called curtain walls. The Main Building was one of the first, after the Van Nelle Factory and the Beursgebouw, both in Rotterdam.”

“Because curtain walling was such a novelty, they first constructed a test building a little further on. The storm resistance of the glass walls was tested by pointing an airplane engine with a propeller at them.” In 1963, the Main Building was put into use. After being renovated, the building, which has been rechristened “Atlas”, reopened in 2019 as the most sustainable educational building in the world.

Auditorium

Looking at Atlas’ concrete interior – the impressive pillars and the angular geometric framing of the ceiling – the hallmarks of Brutalist architecture are unmistakable. The imposing, almost threatening concrete design, characteristic of this reconstruction movement, is also evident in the Auditorium; not just on the inside, but also in the exterior. This makes it all the more difficult to picture that the site of this ‘beast’ used to be home to the picturesque Woensel Watermill.

A water mill needs moving water, which means that the Dommel used to run a different course. It had to be moved a little to the west to create more space for the campus. Geelen shows an old photo depicting American-made earth-moving machines excavating the new riverbed.

“The Auditorium was built in 1966, when it became apparent that student numbers were growing more rapidly than anticipated.” Geelen points to the other side of the Dommel, where a monument was erected commemorating the former water mill. “It contains several of the water mill’s original parts, including a millstone.”

Energy

The walk takes us past Gemini, the former W-hoog building that was constructed around 1970. The building has always been home to mechanical engineers. “It’s next on the list for renovation.” Across from it, right in the middle of the Green Strip, is Ceres. The small building is flanked by the seventy-meter-tall brick chimney, which serves as a landmark on campus, and a “lollipop-shaped” tower that used to store water.

“Ceres is now home to the Institute for Complex Molecule Systems, but it used to be the boiler house, providing heating for the buildings on campus.” Geelen points south towards Professor Doctor Dorgelolaan – named after the TH’s first Rector: “See that row of four chimneys on the roof? That building, Athene, used to house a small nuclear research reactor. It was there purely for educational purposes, but in the late 1960s, it was the university’s pride and joy.” Shortly thereafter, in the 1970s, the reputation of nuclear power changed and mass protests took place, such as the one in Doodewaard. “The reactor was later decommissioned. The radiation level is still being monitored to this day.”

Living on campus

The idea of a residential campus, a place where students are not only provided with education but also with housing, gained traction over the last 25 years, according to Geelen. So where did students reside before that? “They would board with a landlady for example, but you may also have heard the story of how the Limbopad got its name? Many students, particularly from Limburg, would stay at home and walk en masse along that path from the train station to campus every day.”

In recent years, two residential towers were built on campus. In 2016, the first tenants moved into the newly built apartment building Aurora, and the educational building E-hoog, which belonged to Electrical Engineering, was reopened in 2017 as the residential tower Luna. On the northeastern edge of campus, where the Paviljoen used to be, more new construction is planned: two towers providing a total of 735 residential units. But it is an uphill battle: the room shortage among students remains acute, especially now that an increasing proportion of the student population consists of internationals, for whom commuting is not an option.

The future

For such a young campus, TU/e is situated very close to the city center. At the same time, the train track separates the two from each other. The municipality and the university have always struggled with this paradox, notes Geelen. “Eindhoven has always wanted to expand the city center to the north side of the station, but never succeeded. The university took steps to move part of its student life into the city center: the social associations have relocated from the Bunker to city premises.”

The Bunker (1967), another antique brutalist powerhouse, now forms the foundation of a new residential tower on John F. Kennedylaan, overlooking the campus. And there are grand plans in place to build more high-rise buildings on the north side of the station, with the pièce de résistance being the Kathedraal: twin residential towers made of wood. With all these new residents, it would be a miracle if the vibrancy of the center did not eventually cross the tracks.

TU/e, meanwhile, has grand plans of its own: if the upscaling plans are realized, all those extra students will require housing. The first rough design sketches for three new buildings on campus are currently underway, but possibilities to expand to the High Tech Campus and the Automotive Campus in Helmond are also being considered. You may want to take another good look around, because in a few years’ time, the campus might be unrecognizable.