Ir. Caroline Koot of DH is project manager planning for ‘Move Project 3’ and doesn’t beat around the bush: nothing is certain yet. The Executive Board still has to make a formal decision regarding the renovation of the Hoofdgebouw (planned for 2015-2018), the budget, and the various – temporary – moves that will be part of the project. But considering the size of the upcoming operation, planning has already begun, and all parties involved are being heard in the matter.

And, directly or indirectly, a lot of parties are involved. In fact, it’s really only Gemini and Paviljoen that aren’t part of the sliding puzzle. All other university buildings are mentioned in the moving plans, because they will come to house either more or fewer residents – temporary or indefinitely. The Laplace vuilding, Matrix, MetaForum, Traverse, and Kennispoort will all be welcoming new, and often more, residents.

It’s still unsure who will move when exactly, but project manager Koot hopes to have emptied Matrix by summer, since that’s where the puzzle starts. Parts of Chemical Engineering and Built Environment will move from Matrix to neighboring buildings Helix and Vertigo, so the Communications Expertise Center and ICT Services can take their place. The services have to leave the Laplace building because that’s where Industrial Design will be housed. ICT research institute NIRICT will move from Laplace to the new building Flux.

With a total of a little under eight hundred students and staff, Industrial Design is the largest party that will be moving this year. The ground floor of Laplace will be meant for students mostly, and the second floor will accommodate staff. If it’ll fit, that is. “We’re still looking into that”, says Koot. The Laplace building currently houses some two hundred residents, and that number will increase fourfold – although the majority, the ID students, won’t be there full time.

Safety & Security will be moving from Hoofdgebouw to Laplace as well, including the central reporting station. No mean feat, since that means all systems and equipment that security works with have to move, too. ‘No renovations’ is Koot’s ground rule for the temporary housing, although several changes will have to be made for the new residents of Laplace.

After the Hoofdgebouw renovation, security will return, as will the University Club. The catering location won’t be relocated in its entirety. The services, from the conference rooms to a la carte dining will probably be accommodated at several different locations over the next few years. Preferred locations include MetaForum, Zwarte Doos, and Kennispoort, but off-campus locations will be considered as well.

The Executive Board and the general Affairs Department will move to the third floor of MetaForum temporarily. The Information Expertise Center will be housed on the second floor. Staff of the Graduate School, Bachelor College, and Strategic Areas will also be accommodated in MetaForum for the time being.

Downsizing is key, and anyone with 0.6 FTE or less will have to share their workspaces. It’s a new standard at TU/e that will be implemented at Flux as well.

Koot says the residents involved are generally sympathetic to the plans, but they also have certain doubts and wishes. The Department of Mathematics & Computer Science is currently investigating whether or not MetaForum will be able to house all the extra residents at all. The study was started after users asked about the climate and having to share rooms with several people. “We’ve started looking at job profiles to see who has to be able to concentrate seriously, for example.”

Traverse will come to house new residents over the next few years, as well, including the DH staff. The move doesn’t have to do with Project 3 (Hoofdgebouw) so much as with the clearing of Potentiaal. Current main resident Electrical Engineering will be moving to Flux in late 2014, and the rest of the building will have to emptied, too. Several external parties that are now renting space in the Hoofdgebouw will probably be moved to Kennispoort or Traverse as well.

 DH hopes to be able to move non-stop from July to December. Development updates will be published in the DH newsletter, for example.