Faculty Bernoulliburg
The Zernike grounds accommodates both the main part of the Groningen University and the Hanze Polytechnic. The outdated campus has recently been redesigned by West 8 landscape architects into an open landscape, consisting entirely of green space with independent buildings and a single route for public transport and slow traffic.
One of the first new buildings is built by De Zwarte Hond. Bernoulliborg, the faculty of mathematics and physics building, is shaped by internal function. The programme can be read on the outside by the upper relatively closed volume which houses college rooms an elevations, and a completely transparent ground volume which houses more public facilities such as library, reception, restaurant etc. The lower glass facade allows the approach route to the upper floors to be seen, and provides a panoramic view over the surrounding area. It allows for the various activities going on inside the building to be seen from outside. The upper floors form the main volume of the building. The building's blue semi-transparent skin exists of coloured glass slats which reflect its park-like surroundings.
A four-storey comb structure provides for two inner courtyards which admit natural light into the building, and allow vertical spatial connections within.
The limited time for the Faculty to be built, and the flexibility required for the interior led to the choice of a steel load-bearing structure, which has been left visible from both inside and outside the building.
