Demolition of W&N building

About the demolition of the W&N building

• Pathway demolition W&N building in outline

  The W&N building will largely be demolished because it no longer meets the housing requirements for high-quality education and research. Part of the building will be retained and renovated, the AB wing. The process started in 2024, which included the dismantling of the cyclotron center, and is expected to be completed in 2028.

  The demolition will be done as sustainably as possible and released materials will be reused wherever possible, preferably on the VU Campus. The demolition work will take place in phases, with the safety of employees, students, local residents and those directly involved always being paramount and inconvenience being minimized as much as possible.

  Such a large-scale demolition and renovation project inevitably has an impact on the trees and other greenery in the immediate vicinity of the building. A necessary, additional consequence is that trees and plants around the building must be removed. Removal always takes place outside the breeding season and only occurs when it is really necessary from a construction planning perspective.

• Greening VU Campus

  VU Amsterdam has conducted careful flora and fauna research to carefully consider which trees and plants can be replanted. The replanting is also part of VU Amsterdam's plans in greening the campus grounds. The remaining trees and plants will be compensated through the municipality's replanting fund. The wood suitable for reuse will be crafted by Stadshout into products such as insect hotels and benches.

• Demolition updates

  By 2025, the most visible parts of the W&N building (the Cyclotron building on the east side, the TenT on the campus grounds and the CDE wing on the west side) will have been successfully demolished.

  In 2026, we will remove some final demolition materials and fill in soil, repave or sow with grass in several places. In addition, asbestos remediation will take place in some building sections.

  Towards the end of 2026/beginning of 2027, we will continue preparing the demolition of the middle section of the W&N building.

  More information and contact

  The partial demolition and renovation of the W&N building are part of a long-term renewal of the VU Campus. More information can be found on our website: vu.nl/sloop. Questions about the work? If so, feel free to contact our environmental manager Mark Mul on 06 17 71 09 61.