In the coming years, the existing campus Rachelsmolen in Eindhoven of the Fontys University of Applied Sciences will be transformed from a closed-of island in the city to an inspiring educational environment. A campus that puts meeting each other at the heart and where cross-pollination between different fields lead to innovation, experimentation, and entrepreneurship. Barcode Architects, together with OKRA Landscape Architects and Hollandse Nieuwe interior architects, are responsible for the design of the new ambitious Fontys campus.
The large existing building R1 will be demolished to make space within the current campus environment. The fences that currently enclose the campus are removed, opening the area up to the city of Eindhoven.
In providing a tailor-made approach to education, lies the strength of the Fontys as a whole. The Fontys education is characterised by its small-scale, allowing every student to find its way easily within the larger institution. Barcode Architects has translated this core value to a design proposal where 24.000 m2 of the new program is not organised in a vast singular building, but rather in three individual volumes.
A dynamic green campus
The new campus has a strong green character, with a dynamic mix of recreational areas, mini-forests, open fields, and a wadi with vegetation matching the ecology of the nearby Dommel river. This makes the campus resistant to periods of extreme precipitation or prolonged drought. The town square is the heart of the campus, where the Fontys atmosphere expressed at its best. Students, staff, and visitors meet here, on their way to another building, or just because it is a nice place to come together. In the middle of the square, a large grandstand element and a natural sitting area can be used as an informal meeting place or for lectures and other events. Several outdoor classrooms are integrated into the landscape, providing additional educational or meeting space, stimulating a healthy use of the campus even more. A healthy learning and living space for now and in the future is our aim for the new campus Rachelsmolen.
Demolition of building R1 is scheduled for the end of 2020. The expected inauguration of the new campus is at the start of the academic year in September 2023.