MetaForum, Eindhoven University of Technology

Focal point on campus
The original W-hal was one of the university’s oldest buildings. It was designed by architect Jacques Choisy in the second half of the 1950s as a hectare of multipurpose space for machinery and experiments. Choisy’s clever structural design included a “checkerboard-patterned roof” with raised and lowered sections that made the building an instant landmark. This, in combination with the glazed façade, allowed an abundance of natural light into the furthest corners of the building.  

To meet the demands of its growing student body, the university conceived a masterplan that entails the densification of the campus around a central green space. The W-hal was always the focal point on campus, which led it to become the most important traffic hub in the university’s unique system of raised walkways. Due to the digitalisation of daily life, the original building had lost its function. However, the building’s central position on campus was key in deciding to redevelop it into a modern day cluster of facilities

Engineering interaction
A staircase with panoramic views takes you to the newly built structure housing the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. Or enter via the first floor and descend into the library, now larger than the previous one following the addition of a basement. Walkways and sight lines operate in concert to emphasise MetaForum’s function as a central meeting place, which was our objective from the outset: create a venue that facilitates interaction and chance meetings, as these are essential components of the synergy that effective and productive knowledge ecosystems revolve around.

The Mathematics and Computer Science building appears to float above the checkerboard roof, a trick of the eye facilitated by twenty slender, steel columns that hold it up and pierce the original structure without ever touching it. The building is organised around a surprisingly spacious central atrium, through which a cascading staircase winds its way. This, too, facilitates contact between users and chance meetings, encourages people to walk through the building instead of taking the lift, and opens up the interior to make users as visible to one another as possible. Throughout the building are places that invite users to socialise, sit and relax with a cup of coffee or stop briefly for a serious discussion. In-built adaptability enables both traditional and open-plan layouts.