Mecanoo’s master plan for Technopolis, the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) campus, reflects the ambitions and visions of the university.
The master plan enables companies collaborating with the university to locate close to the campus, stimulates the planned consolidation of thirteen faculties to seven, and provides an attractive environment for the international community of students and teachers.
Prominent in the master plan are so-called Servers — groups of communal facilities distributed among the faculty buildings. With their organic forms and transparent facades, the Servers contain flexible lecture theatres, study areas, restaurants and shops.
Curved roofs and canopies point in the direction of the main entrances of the faculty buildings, and geometrical shapes such as an ellipsoid, sphere and cone protrude from the roofs. A central spine ties the whole master plan together.
What now looks like a row of buildings lining either side of a busy, wide road is reorganised into a green pedestrian zone called the Strip, with cycle tracks, footpaths and public transport stops. The Strip connects all the shared facilities such as the library, auditorium, sporting facilities and cultural centre.
While the individual faculty grounds located along the Strip each has its own function, planning and landscaping, they are unified by the lighting, pavement surfaces and street furniture. Student housing, sports facilities and an events area are located close to the southern entrance to the campus.
On the eastern edge, the higher density of buildings lends the entrance to the area a unique appearance. This master plan transforms the campus into a vibrant district that is an essential part of the city of Delft.