- Campus
- 16/01/2025
Department BmE moves off campus for years
A large part of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BmE) and Mechanical Engineering (ME) will be moving to the new TU/e building ‘Vector’ just off campus for the next three and a half years. This is necessary because Gemini-Zuid is undergoing renovation. Moniek van Beest, Research Facility Manager at BmE, explains what’s involved in this relocation of hundreds of people and a staggering thousand square meters of laboratory space.
BmE is currently spread across four different buildings on campus: Gemini-Zuid, Helix, Flux, and Ceres. “But Gemini-Zuid was really our main location; this is where about two-thirds of the department was located,” Van Beest said. And so this group of BmE people – consisting of about three hundred employees and soon-to-be graduates – will now have to relocate. At the same time an even larger group of people from ME, who normally also reside in Gemini-Zuid, will move to several new locations.
Temporary location
Both faculties are now moving to temporary locations. BmE is moving with all 300 people from Gemini-Zuid to Vector (see main photo), a former Fontys building just off campus. Some of ME's people from Gemini-Zuid, about 450, are also moving to this new building. “In addition, a group of 400 employees and graduate students will move into the new Pendulum building, and over 150 in Gemini-North,” says Corine Spoor, deputy director of operations at ME. According to Spoor, these numbers will continue to grow rapidly over the coming years. “Mechanical Engineering is one of the four growth departments,” she explains. Pendulum, like Vector, is also a former Fontys building and is situated in line with Traverse. The location of both buildings can be seen on this map (Pendulum is still marked here as 'Fontys S1').
Three and a half years of renovation
Renovation of part of Gemini, Gemini North, already got underway earlier. “In 2022 they already started with North, so this part will be ready in about two months.” The renovation of Gemini South, which is starting now, will take a lot longer, according to Van Beest. “South is slightly larger, so we expect them to need three and a half years for that.”
It’s not surprising that the renovation will take that long, she says. “The building is fifty years old, the whole facade needs to be replaced, and there’s single glazing almost everywhere. So it’s often cold, when it rains it gets wet in here, and almost all the installations are nearing the end of their lifespans. All over it’s clear that the building is saying: ‘I’m done, renovate me’.”
Which is now about to happen. “The building will first be stripped completely bare; all the asbestos has to be taken out and the installations too, of course. And then it will be rebuilt and rearranged piece by piece.”
Quite a job
Along with the renovation of Gemini South, the new building – Vector – also needed a lot of work. Back in 2022, Van Beest and her team began to get this new building ready to host BmE. “A lot of fire safety work had to be done there; the building didn’t meet the regulations yet. They’ve been working since March of last year to fireproof the entire metal frame of the building,” she says.
Before this renovation, Vector consisted only of large classrooms, without any laboratories. That was a challenge, because in addition to offices and workstations, a thousand square meters of BmE laboratory space has to be moved in. That’s quite a task, says Van Beest. “Anyone can make an office but each laboratory has its own specific characteristics,” she says. “Laboratories have all kinds of gases, special air management, requirements for floors and walls, policies on who can access which rooms and when. All of this had to be integrated into Vector, and they’re still working on that.”
On schedule
Completion of Vector is scheduled for January 2024. Last Friday was the very last day of work allowed in Gemini, meaning BmE workers are ‘homeless’ this week and next. “That was the plan from the beginning, so everyone kept this in mind,” Van Beest stresses. “I started informing all the groups about the timeline a year ago, to make them aware that the labs and other workspaces wouldn’t be available in this period and that they should look for alternative work to do.”
The last few weeks of Q2 were deliberately chosen. “We couldn’t move halfway through a block, which is why we’re doing it now. The no-class days give us a great window for the relocation.”
Employees of BmE packing up their things
Some employees of BmE have managed to put all of their belongings in boxes, others still have quite some work to do. Most of the labs have been dismantled. On the day before the final deadline of packing, the big relocation that's coming up is tangible in Gemini-Zuid.
Campus feel
So as of Q3, most of BmE will officially be in Vector. Van Beest says she’s very aware that the off-campus location may feel somewhat isolated for the students who will have classes here. But she isn’t worried. “For the next few years, Vector and Helix will jointly serve as main locations. And when we look at the education of our students we want them to come to both locations.” This way, all BmE students will spend time on campus for at least some of their classes. “It’s important to create a campus feel for students,” van Beest says.
Protagoras, BmE’s study association, will soon move into the newly renovated Gemini-North already. “Gemini-North is right between Vector and Helix. We hope to have a nice meeting place there, so students can immerse themselves in TU/e student life and campus life. A home away from home for BmE students.”
Positive
Despite the complexity of the relocation – for both staff and students – the department has responded very positively, Van Beest says with enthusiasm. “It’s a good time to be part of this department. People are really looking forward to the move. As a young department, we’ve always had to make the best of all the nooks and crannies available to us, and now we have the opportunity to completely redesign and reshape everything.”
Discussion