Managing the university campus

by Alexandra den Heijer

Personal loss during the corona crisis made me reflect on practical every aspect of life and work. My father’s death during the most restrictive period of NL’s lockdown (mid April 2020) confronted me with the loneliness and emptiness of the virtual reality.

While my regular work continued in the past three months, I did spend some time to recover… and rethink some of the balances in life, and on campus.

The more digital our daily activities become, the more we appreciate old-school, analogue alternatives… as counterweights. Not to replace them, but in binary combinations:

• with all the online lectures, why not reintroduce some lectures without technology
• after days filled with online meetings, looking your colleagues in the eyes without distracting screens should be reinvented as an old-school meeting format
• after Skype coffee breaks, Webex pub quizes and Zoom drinks, any social gathering without smart phones would be very welcome

Summarized: the high-tech campus should be combined with the no-tech campus.

High-tech and no-tech could be combined by introducing high-tech and no-tech zones: this could be places or time slots. Libraries could have no-tech zones and employees could schedule no-tech time slots, to assure their focus and improve their mental health. As a counterbalance of our apps, the popularity of jigsaw puzzles, old-school board games and (Lego) bricks at home has also been observed at the (academic) office… 

Searching hybrid solutions for campuses …. “Hybrid environments for universities” … this is the title of a book that we wrote in March 2020, just before the lockdown of both Netherlands and Germany on the campus of TU Berlin. This book was written in 5 days, thanks to the lack of distractions of other obligations that week and the writing process taking place from 9am to 9pm in the Hybrid Lab. We did not even get out for meals… the only other place I visited in Berlin was my hotel room.

The book can be downloaded (for free) on the website of the publisher Waxmann; the official book launch is September 1, 2020.

Combining the buzz of the campus with the sound of silence was also subject of my “expert voice” that was published on the website of the European University Association (EUA), July 7, 2020.

In the same spirit, I wish you a healthy, relaxed and no-tech Summer.

by Alexandra den Heijer

When I started studying campuses – in the nineties – 2020 was “the long term”. Many visions of the future were called “Campus 2020” … and even personally, I considered 2020 the long term, because it was the year that I would turn 50.

interview for Delft Integraal, given January 9, 2020, published March 31 – “The university needs to facilitate silence” – https://www.tudelft.nl/en/delft-outlook/articles/maart-2020-start-ups/the-university-needs-to-facilitate-silence/ – photos by Sam Rentmeester

In the first week of 2020 I was interviewed about the today’s challenges and – of course – the future. This interview was published a few days ago… I read it again in the current corona reality… Campus 2020 seemed more unpredictable than we ever imagined.

Nonetheless, “the much needed silence” that I emphasise might be found at workplaces at home, but probably only for the happy few. In my inaugural speech “Campus matters” I summed up the campus workplace qualities that matter most: silence, community for social needs and for discipline (peer pressure). At home, we struggle to stick to the 9-to-5 working day, with negative consequences for a healthy work-life balance.

In December 2019, the Dutch association of universities (VSNU) and I brainstormed about a possible new research project “Campus 2020”, which also marked the 25-year campus ownership status of Dutch universities. The title of that project has a whole new meaning now…

On this day with a beautiful date “04-04-2020” I will start a LinkedIn group “Campus 2020” – on behalf of our CAMPUS RESEARCH TEAM – which will share insights from three campus development stages that are relevant now:

1. “From bricks to 100% clicks” – what is happening on (the virtual) campus now?
2. “Back to campus” – what is going to happen, when the campus lockdowns are over?
3. “What’s next?” – how will higher education (and research) be affected by the world-wide corona crisis? what does this mean for the campus of the future?

A higher education system change is inevitable: what will happen to international student mobility, networks, funding … not to mention the content of education and research? The first two development stages can also be recognised in my previous blog post: (1) from solid through liquid to gas, (2) from gas back to liquid and solid.

Campus 2020 was more unpredictable than anyone could have imagined… I celebrated my 50th birthday on campus, in the Espressobar, sharing the last cappuccinos that were served in a very long time. It was Friday the 13th of March. After that day, Delft campus became 100% virtual…

by Alexandra den Heijer

While academic communities involuntarily test the virtual campus model on a world-wide scale in the coronavirus crisis, our urgent tasks are alternated with lingering thoughts about the future of practically everything. Ironically, I am in the process of finishing my book “Campus of the future – managing a matter of solid, liquid and gas” …

… which brings back memories of writing my dissertation “Managing the university campus”, when our own Architecture building went up in flames in 2008. It is hard to get another word on paper, when an extreme scenario becomes reality.

“The campus of the future is a combination of solid, liquid and gas” – from traditional campus model to virtual model (and back) – slide from my inaugural speech November 13, 2019, see DOWNLOADS for other slides and link to online speech

What we did in 2008 after the fire, was focusing on emergency management and at the same time on making notes about what we observed, which eventually led to publications and presentations about lessons learned (see case BK city). Health and safety first, but social needs are next in Maslov’s hierarchy of needs. Creating a place to meet was essential for a sense of belonging to a group after the fire. This needs to be a virtual place to meet now.

In the past days, our Campus Research Team also discussed our responsibility to study “what currently happens on campus” – or rather “off-campus” – and to report about this. My American colleague, Georgiatech professor Michael Haggans, has already invited people to send him experiences with the current state of the virtual campus – see his recent blog post “Campus closed”.

As a team of researchers, we will also keep track of the creative, inspiring, moving and unusual (or even unbelievable) examples we find of managing the university and the 100% virtual campus in these surreal times, including how universities are using the physical campus (empty student residences, laboratories and research equipment) for emergency matters. How flexible and adaptable we are to change.

But even though we cherish both the improvisation and creativity in our own academic communities, we share the strong feelings of uncertainty about the future, ranging from our individual worries & fears about health and our loved ones… to the stress about the long-term effects on all of our lives. We know there is a system change ahead, also in higher education, and there is time for contemplation now… with the hope that also this crisis brings opportunities.

Stay well – wishing you all the best in this surreal times…

by Alexandra den Heijer

After months of preparation I was honoured to give my inaugural speech “Campus matters” at TU Delft’s Auditorium for an audience of professors, university colleagues, students, partners from practice, family and friends.

presenting 1 slide of BK city to illustrate the importance of heritage and tradition for today’s university community

The CAMPUS RESEARCH TEAM supported me during this process. The link to the inaugural speech and the hand-out can be found under DOWNLOADS. The speech will be part of the new book “Campus of the Future – managing a matter of solid, liquid and gas” that will be published at the end of 2019. For pre-orders mail a.c.denheijer@tudelft.nl with c.c. to k.degroot@tudelft.nl

by Alexandra den Heijer

I am proud and happy to announce that I am appointed as professor of Public Real Estate at TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department MBE. My legacy and knowledge about university campuses are the foundation by which the expansion of the research field will be grounded, applying her knowledge to other owners of the built environment. I have made it my challenge to serve as a connector and interpreter in management and design processes.

The chair’s profile

The Chair of Public Real Estate focuses on the challenges of managing public real estate portfolios by building theory on improving decision-making processes and finding new concepts for the built environment.

Managing Public Real Estate – like managing university campuses – is about connecting four variables in every decision: (public) goals, financial resources, people and buildings (image by Flavia Curvelo Magdaniel)

University campuses, hospitals, schools, and city halls are just some examples of built environments that support public goals and have a large impact on society. Managing these buildings – often heritage on iconic locations – is never the primary task of the institutions that use them. However, they need to set an example to society and have a responsibility to implement public policies, resulting in meaningful, functional, affordable, and sustainable built environments.

The chair Public Real Estate supports owners of the built environment in achieving public goals. The research field connects both theories and practical references from other scientific disciplines in the built environment ranging from design, technological innovation and transformation of heritage buildings to interior architecture and urban development.

The chair’s mission

Prof. dr. ir. Alexandra den Heijer: “My mission is to support organisations’ decisions about (managing) their public real estate portfolios, resulting in (more) inspiring, meaningful, functional, affordable, resource-efficient and sustainable built environments.”

The chair’s legacy

Soon the page PUBLIC REAL ESTATE will contain more background information about the Public Real Estate Management legacy of the MBE department, including a link to the book “Public Real Estate” (Evers et al.), the dissertations “Public Real Estate Management: challenges for governments” (Pity van der Schaaf, 2002) and “Building for a better hospital: value-adding management & design of healthcare real estate” (Van der Zwart, 2014) and research publications about schools, museums and other public buildings.

More links:
– March 15, 2018 press release
– Alexandra den Heijer’s professor page