Tag Archives: TU Delft

July 8, 2012 · 11:01

Back to South Korea, with students

by Alexandra den Heijer

Today I will return to South Korea with 24 students from our Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Professor Hans de Jonge and I were asked to join the group of Architecture / Real Estate / Design & Construction Management students on their trip to Busan, Yeosu (Expo 2012) and Seoul. All students are members of BOSS – a student association related to our department of Real Estate & Housing.

a group photo – a few days before our flights to South Korea – in front of our BK city building @TUDelft

It is purely coincidental: two visits to South Korea in the same month! At this moment – just before we leave – I am happy that I can share my experience, my Korean network and my enthusiasm about Seoul and South Korea with our students.

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December 6, 2011 · 18:25

Made in Delft

This evening I gave a lecture in the city of Delft (in Dutch “Bouwkunde na de brand – project en ontwerp: made in Delft”) for many Delft inhabitants, including (retired) TU Delft professors and former mayors of Delft: see http://www.delft.nl (“Bouwkunde na de brand”) en http://www.dok.info. The venue was the Delft library (DOK) – a beautiful building and another good example of a learning landscape. The event was sold out. I just uploaded my presentation as a hand-out (to be retrieved from DOWNLOADS). The photo below was taken after the coffee break, just before a started with part II of my lecture (the spotlight was already on me again…).

audience of my lecture last night @ DOK - Library Delft

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October 7, 2011 · 00:05

Continuing the European tour

by Alexandra den Heijer

Yesterday I continued my European tour by presenting my research in a Masterclass “Campus of the Future” for French and Dutch delegates, related to French/Dutch universities. The venue was Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). The other speakers were Mr. Jean-François Clerc representing the Ministry of Higher Education & Research (Ministère de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, grands projets immobiliers) and Mr. Kees Lansbergen, campusmanager EUR (see: http://www.eur.nl/english/campus_facilities).

My next research step – exploring the European campus – gets more support every week. Given the limited time I could spend on an actual research strategy in the past half year, I am extra proud of invitations to speak at international conferences and share knowledge with academic and professional colleagues. The agenda for the next half year:

– November 2011 – Barcelona, for delegates of Spanish universities
– November 2011 – Brussels, for HUMANE (Heads of Univ. Mgmt in Europe)
– January 2012 – Glasgow, for Strathclyde University (related to SAUDE)
– January 2012 – Helsinki, for research program Finnish universities
– March 2012 – Warwick, for EUA (European University Association)
– April 2012 – Loughborough, for AUDE (directors of estates UK)

Besides these dates there are many opportunities to share knowledge with Dutch and international visitors closer to home. In one of the next posts I will elaborate on the research strategy for (managing) the European campus and ‘univer-cities’ (research programme Real Estate Management, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology).

European union with 27 countries and about 500 million inhabitants – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union, 2011

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September 30, 2011 · 23:58

Students of the future (and today)

Besides writing about the students of the future, I spent the past four weeks with (>200) students of today – at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). All of the lectures and student presentations renewed my energy for new research initiatives with my colleagues.

TU Delft - Aula - lecture hall B (just before my lecture)

PS The ground-breaking science news from CERN (“neutrinos move faster than the speed of light”) at least proved that we sometimes need some very expensive research facilities – and some serendipity – to change the world of science. So much for the added value of university real estate. Who paid for and benefits from the research infrastructure of CERN?

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July 8, 2011 · 01:15

The book has reached 15 European countries…

by Alexandra den Heijer

In the past month – after the visits to Scotland and Germany – I have exchanged knowledge and ideas about campus management with delegates from many European countries. On June 15 a Swiss delegation visited TU Delft, from ETH Zurich and – a week later – on June 22 I presented a paper at an academic conference (MISBE), which I will upload as soon as possible – see photo below.

giving a lecture at Amsterdam's Beurs van Berlage for the academic conference MISBE 2011

Last week I paid a fruitful visit to the European University Association in Brussels to talk about the relation between the campus and the financial sustainability of European universities. Again, it was confirmed that both the opportunities and threats of the campus are internationally recognized. In the meantime I also got enthusiastic messages (about the book) from Austria, Italy, Ireland and England. The most recent lecture (yesterday) was for a group of French delegates, representing universities that are about to become owners of their campuses – like in the Netherlands. Their visit was organized by Utrecht University in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education and Ecole des Ponts / ParisTech. Very interesting meetings… again… I feel blessed with my work.

PS The book has reached campus managers, policy makers and/or academics in 15 European countries (concluded from the messages I received and from data that the publisher sent me): Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain and Germany. And I know there are copies in Dubai, Colombia, Australia and the USA. I am very proud…

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June 12, 2011 · 16:41

An award-winning week in Amsterdam

by Alexandra den Heijer

This week we both received our plaque for the ‘Gulden Feniks’ (nomination) and our European Union / Europa Nostra cultural heritage award. The first was presented at the Provada’s Green Forum by Femke Halsema – with emphasis on sustainable solutions and about 150 people present – and the latter was an impressive ceremony with 1500 guests in the audience, including HRH Princess Margriet, at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

TU Delft's president Dirk Jan van den Berg receives EU price from Plácido Domingo and Androulla Vassiliou

On June 10, 2011 TU Delft’s president Dirk Jan van den Berg received the EU / Europa Nostra award from Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, and Plácido Domingo, the world-renowned tenor and president of Europa Nostra.

Project team BK city is proud of the EU award - Alexandra den Heijer (brief), Dennis Cruyen (facilities) and Job Roos (co-ordinating architect)

Van den Berg publicly shared his joy about the award with BK city project team members in the audience, which was highly appreciated and emphasized the team work. The team also took this opportunity to celebrate the collective memories of an unforgettable process. Present were Wytze Patijn (chair design team, former dean), Hans Wamelink (chair project group, professor Design and Construction Management), Job Roos (co-ordinating architect), Johan Hogervorst (chair construction team), Dennis Cruyen (chair facilities team) and me (chair brief team). More information about the project and award (see menu): CASE BK CITY

BK city project team members before the Europa Nostra ceremony in Amsterdam: (from left to right) Alexandra den Heijer, Job Roos, Wytze Patijn, Dennis Cruyen and Johan Hogervorst

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May 13, 2011 · 23:30

Exactly 3 years after the fire

some members of the BK city project group - at the site where it all started


hard to believe the 42.000 m2 building was here"

Seems like a decade – the fire on May 13, 2008 – but it is really only three years… The empty site hardly shows any sign of the > 40.000 m2 Architecture building (see photos). Of course we all have our memories, from just a few to decades of work and from sharing some time to sharing life and love.

Nevertheless, we are proud of everything that happened after the fire and the new place to meet, work, live and love that we collectively created at BK city.

Alexandra den Heijer

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