Main contractor Van Wijnen is now carrying out preparatory activities, in order to be able to start the structural stage in January. On the north side a platform lift has appeared which takes the builders up to the sixth floor and higher. At present asbestos is being removed from the lower floors of Atlas.Prior to the removal of the old façade, which is scheduled for mid-March 2017, the contractor needs to do demolition work, build new concrete and steel structures and lay out the mains. At the beginning of December a section of the façade will be erected at eye level on the slabs between the pond and the 'markthal' of MetaForum. This mock-up will measure four by four meters and is intended to display the façade and assess it.Early in 2017 Van Wijnen will set up a digital screen next to the temporary accommodation of the builders in the former Impuls building. Tuinder: “We want to show everybody who is interested as well as the builders the progress that is being made. At the peak of the construction activities there will be as many as 350 builders at work simultaneously. That will be from August 2017 until the spring of 2018.”

As of December 13 Real Estate Management will organize guided tours of Atlas for TU/e-employees, one every two or three months. Twenty persons at once, wearing safety shoes and helmets, can then make a tour of the building. Registration is desired.