Faculty Club, Tilburg University

L’Università di Tilburg (Paesi Bassi) ha recentemente ampliato il suo campus con il Faculty Club, un padiglione polivalente per il personale accademico disegnato da Shift architecture urbanism (Rotterdam). A ispirare il team nello sviluppo del progetto è stato il modernismo monumentale di Jos Bedaux, progettista dei primi edifici del campus, realizzati negli anni Sessanta come “volumi potenti e solitari, immersi nel verde”. Il Faculty Club è concepito come un monolite scolpito, una semplice scatola in cui trasparenza e solidità si fondono. Il ristorante centrale è “scavato” nel centro della struttura, creando un effetto tunnel sulla facciata anteriore. L'edificio è sollevato da terra, il che ne rafforza il carattere solitario. La differenza di quota è colmata dalla presenza di una scala esterna ed una rampa integrata all'interno della facciata anteriore. Ciascuna facciata possiede una sola finestra. Attraverso l’incasso di ciascuna di esse sono stati creati degli spazi esterni all'interno della facciata anteriore e posteriore, che segnalano l'ingresso nella parte anteriore e formano una grande terrazza coperta sul retro. La semplicità e la plasticità del trattamento tridimensionale della finestra contribuiscono ulteriormente alla qualità scultoree dell'edificio. Il programma principale è costituito da un ristorante per ottanta persone, un salone e due sale conferenze. Il programma secondario è composto da una cucina, archivio ed altri servizi. Quanto più le funzioni sono lontane dal campus, più intimo e informale diventa lo spazio. Le sale si affacciano sul campus, mentre il salone guarda esclusivamente alla foresta e al giardino. Tutte le funzioni principali sono fisicamente collegate da un asse trasparente che corre lungo l'edificio. Sia il salone che il ristorante sono collegati alla terrazza situata sul retro dell'edificio. Un sistema di finestre scorrevoli a quattro binari permette di aprire i due terzi dei diciotto metri complessivi della facciata vetrata, cosa che intensifica l'esperienza della foresta, senza che il visitatore debba uscire dall’edificio. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Tilburg University has extended its campus with the Faculty Club, a multipurpose pavilion for the academic staff and their guests. Shift architecture urbanism took the initiative to reanimate the quintessential quality of the Tilburg campus: strong solitary buildings in the green. The monumental modernism of Jos Bedaux served as a frame of reference. Bedaux designed the first - still the best - buildings for the university in the sixties. By creating a strong formal relation between the existing university buildings and the new Faculty Club, an ensemble of omni-directional solitaires is created. This enables one to recognize the Faculty Club as part of the university, despite its peripheral forest location and exclusive program. The Faculty Club is designed as a carved-out-monolith, one simple box in which transparency and massiveness melt together. The central restaurant is carved out from the centre, creating a tunnel-effect in the front façade. In order to strengthen its solitaire character the building is lifted from the ground. The height difference is bridged by outside stairs and a ramp integrated within the front façade. Each façade has only one window. By recessing each window, outdoor spaces are created within the front and rear façades. These mark the entrance in front and form a large covered terrace in the back. The simplicity and plasticity of the three-dimensional window treatment further contributes to the building’s sculptural qualities. The primary program consists of a restaurant for eighty persons, a lounge and two conference rooms. The secondary program consists of a kitchen, storage space and other services. The further the functions are situated from the campus, the more intimate and informal the space becomes. The conference rooms look out over the campus, while the lounge completely relates to the forest and the garden. All main functions are physically linked by a transparent axis running the length of the building. Both the lounge and the restaurant are connected to the carved-out terrace situated at the rear of the building. A four-rail system of sliding windows enables one to open up two-thirds of the total eighteen meters of glass façade. This intensifies the experience of the forest without the visitor having to step outside the building envelope. The construction principles of the Faculty Club are deceptively simple. In order to emphasize contrasting space and mass, the structure, installations and details are integrated within walls and floors. The starting point for the engineering was the visual absence of technique. Key contractors and consultants were engaged early in the process of preliminary design, enabling the development of precise and project-specific details that consistently support the overall concept. Shift architecture urbanism was responsible for the design, including the execution drawings and the site supervision. The result is an integral, durable and engaging building. A monolith carved in such a way as to both profit and profit from the surrounding landscape while maintaining its distinct primary form. Its architecture refers to the heritage of Jos Bedaux by abstracting and updating his formal language. This makes the building into a solidary solitaire, sober and luxurious, massive and transparent, silent and outspoken. Collaborators: Sabine Hogenhout, Bahar Akkoclu and Tjeerd Bloothoofd Developer: Van der Weegen Bouwontwikkeling, Tilburg Main contractor: Van der Weegen Bouwgroep, Tilburg Construction: Bartels, Eindhoven Installations: Van Delft Installaties, Nieuwkuijk Stone façade: Van Stokkum Natuursteen, Venlo Glass façade: MHB, Herveld Fixed interior: Smeulders IG, Nuenen Concrete floor: Van Kempen Bedrijfsvloeren, Bergeijk Garden: Van Helvoirt Groenprojecten, Berkel Enschot Lighting: Philips Lighting and Living Projects Furniture: Brokx Projectinrichting, Oosterhout with Vitra Garden design: MTD, Den Bosch Garden realisation: Van Helvoirt Groenprojecten, Berkel Enschot Gross area: Inside space: 518m2 Outside space: 110m2 Adress: Warandelaan 3, Tilburg Delivery: june 2011 Stone façade: Limestone, type: Muschelkalk Glass façade: Anodized aluminium, type MHB-Skyframe with Saint Gobain glazing Ceiling: Acoustic stucco, OWA Lighting: LED, Philips Furniture: Vitra