Danny Esselman, architect and partner at VenhoevenCS, joined the Spryg congress on Dutch and Belgian campus developments, on September 9, at High Tech Campus Eindhoven.
The talk focused on futureproof designs ranging from Bio Science Park Leiden and TU Eindhoven and the masterplan for Liège Expo area to the still fledgling routes for Arenapark Hilversum, Synaps Park Genk (Hospital East Limburg) and Corda Campus Hasselt.

Here’s 8 things to take away from Esselmans lecture on future-proof campus design:

1 Consider a campus as a node of knowledge.
The area is a nonstop living lab for crossovers of research and education, of livability and entrepreneurship.

2 Opt for an adaptive design strategy.
A campus-future based on flexibility, participation and circularity requires a dynamic design process. After all, a campus is a living lab in itself.

3 Intertwine connections on all scales.
Design a campus destination on a crossroads of public transport and of energy and information infrastructure to provide for international, regionwide, local and on-site networks.

4 Densify to increase value.
The spatial translation of the aim to raise financial value, accelerate innovation and create a community is a 15-minute-city; a compact, intensively mixed and attractive, district.

5 Incorporate a mobility hub as key campus element.
This campus entrance concentrates all types of transport and facilities into one structure to free up space for a lively shared streetscape prioritizing walking and cycling.

6 Open up on eye-level.
Boost meaningful interaction, flexible use and knowledge exchange visibly by designing buildings with a public base; open plinths with a network of inviting spaces for sports, restaurant, lobby, study rooms.

7 Everyone benefits from a community manager.
This spider in the campus-web links all material and immaterial matters on site.

8 Design knowledge ecosystems.
There is more than study, work and research by talents and professionals here, so design landscape, buildings, housing, labs, gardens, and hotspots as inseparable parts of vibrant campus life.

Link to our Campus Design Booklet