Orion Wageningen UR

Bolidt News

Orion Wageningen UR

Each day, thousands of feet pass through the corridors of Orion, Wageningen University’s newest lecture building, which was opened at the end of 2013. Orion offers no less than 2,600 extra study places for lecturers and students. A welcome addition for the growing university, which was awarded the best of the Netherlands in 2014 for the ninth time in a row.

Most sustainable building on campus

With Orion, Ector Hoogstad Architects designed the most sustainable building on Wageningen University campus. The architect’s design perfectly reflects the university’s mission as ‘green university of the Netherlands’: to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. The most frequented spaces within the 45-metre high, pentagonal building, such as the lecture halls and the restaurant, are located as close to the ground floor as possible to reduce lift traffic. The practice rooms, in contrast, have been placed high up in the building, directly below the equipment rooms. The ingenious technical design minimises energy requirements, which the building partially meets itself thanks to the large-scale integration of solar cells in the roof construction.

Wear resistant, sound absorbing flooring in high traffic areas

The clean lines and symmetry of the building and the emphasis on sustainability have also been incorporated into Orion’s interior. Annekoos Littel Interior Architects approached Bolidt specifically for the high traffic areas within het university building: the corridors, halls en the most frequented spaces, such as the auditorium, the grand café and the restaurant. The Bolidtop^® range is known to both Ector Hoogstad and Annekoos Littel for its visco-elastic nature and high wear resistance. The flooring systems are highly resistant to heavy foot traffic, chair movement and falling bags. On top of that, these seamless floors are sound absorbing and easy to maintain. Vital properties for flooring in the high foot traffic corridors and spaces within the university building.

Co-ordinated, clean appearance

Annekoos Littel had all the floors in the building finished in the same colour. In line with the interior design plan, Bolidroom - Bolidt’s design lab - developed customised Bolidtop^® flooring in the exact colour the interior architect specified. The smooth Bolidtop^® finish thus helps to produce a consistent, minimalist style throughout the building and enhances Ector Hoogstad’s sophisticated use of natural light in the building.