A year after the move
Finally happy with the Feringa Building
Door Christien Boomsma
By Christien Boomsma
Christien Boomsma
She is not the only one. Group leaders who were furious a year ago now tell the director of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials how happy they are with the building.
At the same time, there are some principal investigators (PIs) who won’t be attending the official opening this Tuesday. ‘They feel that too much has happened for them to celebrate yet. They need a little more time to process everything’, says Tromp.
After years of delays, the first groups were finally able to move into the building in March of 2024, only to be met with one problem after another. Chemicals couldn’t be moved, fume hoods were constantly throwing up errors, the temperature was all over the place, and the negative pressure in the labs was incorrect.
To add insult to injury, on 9 July, the researchers were told that because of a faulty ventilation system, safety in the labs wasn’t sufficiently guaranteed. That meant chemicals couldn’t be used in practically any of the labs.
No progress
As a result, some research groups were unable to work for nearly nine months. PhD students couldn’t graduate on time, post-docs missed their deadlines, and PIs had to explain to their grant providers why they hadn’t made any progress.
Some people need a little more time to process everything
‘On top of that, we were completely unable to tell them what was going on’, says Esther Marije Klop, portfolio manager at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE).
She was well aware of the consequences at every point during the process. Strategic manager of housing Andrys Weitenberg was constantly desperately looking for solutions. ‘But we always told each other that we wouldn’t bargain with our people’s safety’, says Klop.
But the question remains: how did this happen? Why did FSE move into a building that everyone said wasn’t finished or safe? ‘If your house isn’t finished, you don’t move in’, says Tromp.
Two evils
Klop and Weitenberg understand what she means. And yet, at the time, it seemed like the lesser of two evils, they say. ‘Now that I know how everything ended up, I might have made different choices. But even with what I know now, I probably would’ve started the move anyway’, says Klop. ‘We thought people would only be delayed in their work for a few days. Those drawbacks felt insignificant compared to the problems that stopping the process would have caused.’
It’s also important to remember, Weitenberg adds, that the move was originally scheduled to take place in September 2022. Covid and a hold-up in building material deliveries caused them to postpone it to September 2023.
But in early 2023, meetings with the UG’s Real Estate Organisation – responsible for the building’s construction as well as managing the contractors and the suppliers – proved that this planning might be cutting it too close, as well. ‘We then decided to postpone the move by six months, to March 2024. With what we knew then, we felt it was a sufficient margin.’
Gigantic operation
Talks with the movers started in March of 2023, a year before the actual move. The plans were finished in November 2023. ‘At that point, they were basically set in stone.’
The boxes were packed, but we hadn’t checked everything off the list yet
A move like this, Weitenberg explained, involves a lot more than just packing up some boxes. It’s a gigantic operation, logistically speaking. Complex equipment has to be dismantled and rebuilt. This requires specialised companies, which have to plan operations like these months in advance. ‘Think of it like a mammoth tanker. You can’t just yank on the steering wheel to make it turn around.’
Unfortunately, they soon figured out their margin wasn’t sufficient after all.
There was a checklist to guarantee that all safety and operationally critical matters were in order before FSE moved into the building, says Weitenberg. According to the planning, everything was supposed to be checked off months in advance. But that quickly became a few weeks. ‘Finally, it was just a few days, but we were still on time. And then came the moment when all the boxes were packed, but we hadn’t checked everything off the list yet’, says Weitenberg.
Impression of the open day at the Feringa Building on 14 June Video by Macy van Geldorp
Not confident
He figured since the problems were just technical, they’d be able to solve them in the first few weeks. To be honest, he wasn’t overly confident. ‘But every time, the building directors would say that they assumed it was going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.
‘Sure, we asked some critical questions here and there. Were they absolutely sure? Because we were seeing some issues’, says Klop. ‘But they insisted it was going to be okay. There were times when especially Andrys and I wondered if we should stop the move.’
‘But not moving wouldn’t have solved anything. The consequences would’ve been that no one would be able to do any work’, says Weitenberg. ‘Everything had been scaled down and packed up.’
Besides, many labs did have all boxes checked, and more space would gradually become available. ‘Until we found out somewhere halfway through June that those labs were having issues with their fume hoods. That’s when we really started to get worried’, says Weitenberg. ‘Because it meant our plans didn’t work anymore.’
Crisis team
The labs were shut down and people were no longer allowed to use dangerous chemicals until their safety could be guaranteed. Still, it took until late September before the management group tasked with fixing the issues turned into a crisis team that met daily, focussing mainly on the faculty and the needs of the building’s users.
The building directors kept saying it was going to be okay
‘There were people on the team who knew what they were doing, who said they would take care of things, set up a protocol and leave us to worry about the technical issues’, says Klop. ‘It worked really well. Things still weren’t moving fast enough for my liking, of course, but I was convinced we were working at maximum speed.’
The first laboratories were back in business in early October.
Still, if there’s nothing that FSE could have done differently, does that mean the Real Estate department underestimated the job? A project like the Feringa Building is a unique, exceptionally complex job. Should the UG have outsourced it?
Weitenberg isn’t sure. ‘That would’ve made things very difficult for the various parties involved’, he says. ‘Maybe we could have organised things differently. But it’s also important for us to stay in charge.’
Unforeseen problems
The Real Estate Organisation says that commissioning a building as complex as the Feringa always comes with unforeseen problems. ‘The idea that there was insufficient knowledge or preparation doesn’t do justice to the effort and expertise of the many professionals who executed this project.’
At the same time, the department realises some things could have gone better. ‘In addition to a better separation between completion of the building and the move, we should have set up a joint team separate to the moving team, as they would have been able to coach people through the issues surrounding the commissioning of the building in a multidisciplinary approach’, is their response.
But now, it’s time to turn over a new leaf.
You don’t realise how nice it is here until you’re back in Nijenborgh 4
‘The Feringa Building is a great and technically advanced modern building which, in spite of its challenging start, now provides ample space for the high-quality research and education it was designed for’, the Real Estate Organisation says.
Besides, the building actually works now, although there are still some issues that need solving. Such as the negative pressure in the labs, meant to prevent harmful chemicals from accidentally exiting the lab. That’s why the current policy is to evacuate an entire wing instead of just a single lab. It’s a hassle, but it’s safe.
The board of directors recently promised 2 million euros to compensate researchers who suffered a delay. While that’s less than the 4 million euros the building’s users had calculated, at least it’s something. ‘These are difficult times, and nothing is guaranteed’, says Klop. ‘This was not our researchers’ fault at all, and it’s nice for someone to help out, even just a little bit.’
Satisfied
What about the building’s users? They’re mostly happy. ‘It’s just a really good building’, says molecular biophysicist Wouter Roos. ‘The people in my lab are satisfied.’
To be fair, his group doesn’t use fume hoods, so they weren’t affected by any of the issues. ‘But everything works and everything is shiny and new. As far as our group is concerned, it’s a success.’
Wesley Browne is also in awe of the building. And his Stratingh Institute was affected by the problems. ‘It’s so nice now’, he says. ‘And whenever there still is a problem, it’s fixed pretty quickly. You don’t realise how nice it is here until you’re back in Nijenborgh 4.’
One thing is certain, however: the plans for the second part of the Feringa Building, which will be completed in two years, will look very different. The actual moving date won’t be determined until the final wing is completed. ‘We don’t want another mammoth tanker that we can’t redirect’, says Klop.
Weitenberg: ‘The tanker won’t leave until all the lights are green in the other harbour.’