TU Delft Faculty of Architecture
After a fire destroyed the architecture faculty at Delft University in May 2008, a temporary solution was found in the abandoned headquarter building of the university. A team of five architecture offices was commissioned by Dean Wytze Patijn for its refurbishment. Braaksma & Roos coordinated the project; Fokkema & Partners Architecten were already working on the building; Octacube specialises in fast glass construction; MVRDV designed the research centre, The Why Factory; and Kossmann.dejong designed the public and work spaces. The concept is an open studio building connected by an interior street. In a very short time the dark monumental building was transformed by the design team into a vibrant and accessible modern educational facility with the character of a city: BK City. The reuse of this building transmits a strong message about how such transformations can contribute to a sustainable future, an important task facing European architects today.