Last edited 30 Nov 2020

Atlas building, Eindhoven University

On 27 September 2016, the renovation design of the Main Building at Eindhoven University of Technology was awarded a BREEAM Outstanding rating by the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC), with a score of 93.86%, the highest score ever for an education building.

[Renders // © Team V Architectuur. Visualization // Zwartlicht]

The original building from 1963 has sixteen floors and a surface area of 44,000 square meters. The new ‘Atlas’ building will function as a living lab for research on innovative and sustainable technologies. It will house the department of Industrial Design, the department of Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences, the university executive board and support services.

The design for the Atlas building, was developed by Total Engineer Team RSVP, a multidisciplinary design team consisting of Team V (architects), Van Rossum (construction engineers), Valstar Simonis (building installations engineers) and Peutz (building physics engineers and sustainability experts).

A new curtain wall, consisting of highly insulating triple glazing, and interior sun blinds with a hi-tech coating to keep heat out during the day and provide insulation at night, create thermal values equivalent to an insulated cavity wall. In addition, during summer nights the floor-high windows slide outwards to cool and ventilate the building.

Heating and cooling will be supplied by the campus-wide TU/e geothermal system that stores heat and coolth separately in the subsurface. In addition, solar panels will supply 500 megawatt hours per year, which will cover the majority of the building’s power requirements. All these initiatives will reduce the CO2 emission of the building by around 80 percent, even though the number of occupants will more than double.

The whole building is equipped with a smart and efficient LED lighting, configured at a relatively low light level. Users can adjust the light settings themselves through an app. The university intends to study people’s wellbeing in relation to the customisable lighting system.

[Renders // © Team V Architectuur. Visualization // Zwartlicht]

Jo van Ham, vice-president of the TU/e executive board said, “We are really proud of and pleased with this result… Sustainability is a hugely important theme in our education and research, and this also means taking the lead in terms of our buildings and operations. We have been investing extra in sustainability for fifteen years now, with campus-wide geothermal storage one of the outcomes. This geothermal system is one of the biggest in Europe.”

DGBC director Annemarie van Doorn said, “Once this BREEAM-NL Design stage certificate actually becomes a Post-construction stage certificate, then the main building will become a model for all universities and institutions of higher education throughout the world. We warmly applaud investments in sustainability and health. Especially in education buildings where The Netherlands’ future generation is educated.”