Demolishing from the outside in
The demolition will take place in phases. The safety of employees, neighbors and those directly involved is a priority. The demolition will take place from the outside in: first the outer parts of the building CDE and VWXYZ will be demolished. The AB section will stay and be renovated into a modern building for education and research. The F wing will be demolished as well. The middle section (GKNM+PQR+H) will stay for now and will temporarily be used by certain bèta groups that will eventually move to their permanent location, mainly in the renovated AB part. Part of the office spaces will remain in these wings. From a sustainability standpoint, the materials, parts and furniture will be reused on campus and in the AB part.
Cyclotron
Part of the demolition is the dismantling of the cyclotron. Cyclotrons are necessary for the international production of medical isotopes, which are used in the fight against cancer. VU Amsterdam houses four cyclotrons in W&N, three of which will be sold and reused and one (Philips cyclotron) will be removed. The production of three of the four cyclotrons has already been taken over by the Imaging Center Amsterdam UMC. The only section that is not yet fully operational, is the connecting part tot he labs where the isotopes are prepared for commercial use (particularly for the diagnosis of cancer). After this is also fully operational, the final dismantling can start.
Reusing concrete
We have some exciting news! With regards to sustainability, the very lightly activated concrete will be processed into a new raw material. This recycled material will be used to create composed concrete. This way of production leads to significantly less CO2-emission. The material can be used as concrete for dyke reinforcement and foundations.