INHOLLAND University Delft, the Netherlands 2006 - 2009

Rietveld architects design for the INHOLLAND University Buiding is a feat of integration between very different colleges under the umbrella of one kind of learning model. This model, a Bachelor program in Applied Sciences emphasizing self directed study prepares students for eventually pursuing an independent masters degree. It requires a flexible interior plan, yet identities of the disciplines need to be preserved. For example, students mix on the open scissor staircase where they walk between floors and in the open self-study areas, double high on all corners. So the building is a creative synergy expressed in three volumes, College of Agriculture in the upper main volume, College of Maritime and Aviation Technology below and an Administration "tower" in the front. However, these departments are not simply layered but interlock spatially at the juncture of library and auditorium. The auditorium is especially visible from the exterior as a symbol of scholarship and community. The commission came about through the need to replace a small existing building with a complex program for the three departments. The site spans through the entire block and supports a pedestrian access punctuated by a dramatic entrance. The main entrance atrium is important and features a suspended auditorium within an innovative composite material glass wall atrium and a restaurant beyond. This groundbreaking structure was developed together with the INHolland University Composite Materials Laboratory and engineered and built by Octatube.