Campus development
High-quality research and education calls for high-quality and efficient infrastructure. In order for our staff and students to thrive in the best possible physical conditions, we continue to work on expansion, modernisation, and sustainability of our campus buildings. We also regularly optimise the smooth flow of vehicles. For example, for some time now, there has been a roundabout at the shared entrance to the VUB Health Campus and VUB hospital UZ Brussels. There are also regular expansion works. Curious about our current infrastructure works? Below you'll find an overview.
About the construction project
Childcare, a school and after-school care in one place. That is what was achieved with the hyper-sustainable Children's Campus Theodoor at the VUB Health Campus. These works on the VUB Health Campus, between the buildings of Basic Fit and the Erasmus University College Brussels, started in 2020 and were completed in 2022.
Pilot project for ‘Doorgaande Lijn’
Theodoortje has been chosen as the pilot project for ‘Doorgaande Lijn’. It represents a development line between the age of 0 and 6 in which childcare, school, and after-school care are seamlessly connected. Childcare and education are currently organised separately. Through better coordination between the regulations and the educational approach, care, play, learning, and parenting can be integrated better.
Everything in one place
In the new construction project on the Brussels Health Campus, school, childcare, and after-school care will be housed in the same building, along with premises for CAW Brussels, the Child and Family Advice Bureau and the Jetse scouting group De Faunaten. A Brussels House of the Child facility will also be developed. Among other things, plans include a workshop area with a kitchen that can be used for a wide range of activities. Placing all these organisations together in one building will physically centralise various services for children. The desire to achieve a truly integrated facility, the strong link with the House of the Child and the unique opportunity to make children the focal point in a shared new location were all important elements in being assigned the 'Doorgaande Lijn' pilot project.
An asset for the VUB Health Campus
The new construction project offers not only energy-efficient classrooms but also pleasant outdoor spaces and connects to the beautiful Laarbeek wood. The project is an asset for the green VUB Health Campus in Jette, for users of the school and childcare facilities, and for local residents. After all, the House of the Child will focus on Jette, Ganshoren, and Sint-Agatha-Berchem, among other places.
Step by step towards completion
The children's campus and the House of the Child will be further developed step by step, in coordination with VUB. Not only in Jette, but also with the VUB daycare centre in Elsene.
Nice recognitions
This project was already awarded the Be Exemplary Prize of Brussels in 2017 as an exemplary building for sustainable architecture. And it was also nominated for the Belgian Building Award 2023 in the category - sustainability.
On 7 December 2023, Kindercampus Theodoor won the Belgian Construction Awards in the Architecture category. This category (Architecture Award) rewards design and architectural innovation. It recognises projects that have demonstrated creativity, aesthetic quality, functionality, respect for the environment and meet the needs of users.