Vesalius Campus is one of the most striking buildings in the center of Leuven. It was designed by architects Michel Jaspers and Marco Pizzutti.
The concept of the building is surprisingly simple: a fifty by fifty meter cube pierced by a cylinder. The cube has six floors, two below ground level and four above, and a total surface area of 14,500 square meters. The cylinder forms a central atrium with a sloping spiral walkway that integrates all the functions.
The spiral winds its way up past the twelve modules that make up the building and in this way allows for an interaction between educational and managerial functions; between students, professors, and entrepreneurs; and between technology, management, and communication. In other words, the combined action between Group T’s partners on the one hand and the main educational components on the other also translates three-dimensionally.
The atrium has a central role and purpose. It is designed as a privileged place for openness and communication, so that every individual who works and spends time there has the opportunity to express his or her personality to others. The atrium is the strategic space for integration and dialogue. The open space inside, the natural light and the full glass add to the idea of simplicity and communication.
The exterior of the building reflects exactly the same philosophy: simple, compact but inviting. Translucent architecture, simple but present, the impetus for communicating with each other and with the environment.
The campus is divided into modules, each at a different level and connected by the walkway. This concept creates not only a unique dynamic, but also ensures that the walkway takes you past all of Group T’s activities. As you wind your way up the two hundred and ten meters long walkway, you are led past each of the cornerstones of the engineering program—basic sciences, technological fields, management and communication—and the students, professors, and entrepreneurs who give it content. In other words, a journey through the building is sufficient to familiarize yourself with the vision of Group T.
A journey along the central spiral walkway in the atrium takes you past the following modules:
0. Reception
1. Restaurant
2. Theater
3. Physics
4. Students (Student council and union-Student secretariat)
5. Chemistry-Biology
6. Mathematics
7. Energy
8. Professors (Management)
9. Material Technology-Life Technology
10. Information Technology
11. Auditoriums
12. Entrepreneurs (Administration-Strategy-Communication)
13. Management-Communication
14. Information Technology
