On the TU Delft campus, cepezed is designing its own building for QuTech, a research institute of TU Delft and TNO. QuTech conducts research into quantum technology and collaborates nationally and internationally with academics and industry. It will be a pleasant building that is cleverly constructed so that it is super sustainable despite the required concrete and the many installations.
equipped to grow
QuTech is currently still housed in the Faculty of Applied Physics. When it was founded in 2015, this was fine, but the institute now employs 350 people. The new building accommodates them and is also equipped to grow, with an expansion option at the back. The number of laboratories for laser and cryo-experiments can be expanded within the existing building because of the specific requirements for them.
puzzle
Architects are quick to say that a design was 'quite a puzzle', but in this case it really was. The puzzle focused on reducing material use and cleverly positioning installations. What contributes enormously to the balance is the choice of wood where possible and concrete where necessary - that is, at the vibration-free labs. The installations are placed in a block on the ground floor, this while the entrance area still remains inviting, partly thanks to the high glass panels in the façade. Together with skylights and a strategically meandering connecting zone, they provide daylight deep into the building.
For the design of QuTech, we collaborated with Arcadis, Buro Happold, Pieters, Peutz, Ryse, Arcadis and RHDHV.
Want to know more about the design? View the project here.
wood where possible, concrete where necessary
