<< Back

Contents 1 Interviews 1.1 Desk member of the Science Center 1.2 A man in the park - Harry Koerts 1.3 Gardener at the botanical gardens - Karel Oberman 1.4 Director of the Science Center - Michael van der Meer 1.4.1 park options

Interviews

Desk member of the Science Center

• they only go through the park to go to the Ketelhuis

• in summer they lunch outside the building, not in the park

• they've never stayed in it

• the city council is already planning to make the road between Julianalaan and Mijnbouwstraat a 2-way street, and extending the park to the architecture department

• they have about 38.000 visitors a year (more information from Michael van der Meer, head of the Science Center)

• everything shown is T.U. related research, and experiments

• this is their first year of operation, and they do promote it, but are doing very well.

• there is a very broad and young support, mostly secondary school students interested in science

• the T.U. shop and information center moved from the Aula to the S.C.

• many T.U. meetings (staff and students) are held there because of good meeting rooms facilities

• the Science Center has plans to expand to the north

• the road (Mijnbouwstraat) is a too wide very dangerous road for children to cross, it is a big barrier with proper crossing

A man in the park - Harry Koerts

• he's there 3x a day, he sees about 5 people in the morning and afternoon, playing with their kids or walking their dog (there is a bent sign that says no dogs allowed, but nobody cares, and the people who are supposed to check it, parking guards, are not there because it's free parking in the area)

• he likes the silence there, as he can block out the noise of the traffic as he can't see it and enjoy the green

• we need to reroute the traffic of Julianalaan to go behind the architecture department over Zuidplantsoen

• on a sunny day there are a lot of students on the lawn

• not many people that live in the area use the park

• but the student residences will probably see this park as their garden

• in the evening, the North benches are used by a group to go drinking, the N.E. bench is the lovers bench, the S.E. bench is an empty one, as it is not surrounded by shrubs. The south bench is "the private one" with a lot of thick vegetation around it where couples do 'their thing', and the west bench is where they deal drugs...

• the botanical gardens would like to use the park as an extension, a public feature garden, their business card, as an inviting entry into the TU area, but the traffic doesn't allow for a good connection between the two

• there is a problem connecting the people of Delft with the students, as they're in their own world

• The people are almost 'affraid' to go into a university building, not knowing it is allowed

• along with this, the image of students isn't the best one, and people don't know how to relate to them

• it requires a change of attitude of the people, and a more inviting attitude of the TU

• the faculties and students have parties and have things going on. The rest of the city is kinda dead, especially the park. *there is one cultural/community center behind central station for the entirety of Delft... That means that there are no cultural incentives in the area in which the park is located

• there are really 2 cultures, students *rest of Delft

• the thick green around the park is a good thing, it creates a barrier, gives privacy, and keeps the noise and business out of the park, creating a sort of haven 'inside', away from the traffic. On the other hand, it is not inviting to come into the park as it makes it hard to see what's going on (good or bad)

• there is a good amount of parking at the architecture faculty, so there is plenty of parking for events in the evening in the park should there ever be one...

• the trees provide shelter for people, and the green is something everybody needs, it gives a serenity in a city

• animals are also a viable part of the park, with plenty and a large variety of birds, cats and even rabbits

Gardener at the botanical gardens - Karel Oberman

• the botanical gardens originally wanted to include the park into the gardens, but the city council didn't want to cooperate

• there is a route to a fence at Mijnbouwstraat ready to go into the park, but never used.

• there is an entrance fee of €1 for children, and €2 for adults, it's free with a museum year card

• the gardens are otherwise funded by the TU
• some employees are from goodwill and provide work for the handicapped
• they used to have concerts in the gardens, but the city cut their budged

• they have a number of workshops throughout the year

Director of the Science Center - Michael van der Meer

• the busy Mijnbouwstraat is a big hindrance, and the city wants to make it a 2-way street, making it even busier
• this road really disconnects them from the rest of the TU

• in some ways the river Schie is doing the same to the city center

• people usually park behind the Architecture faculty as there is no real parking near the building itself...

• Public transportation is alright, though he is realy looking forward to the arrival of tram 19

• The green spaces behind the Science Center belong to DUWO, they wanted to build new housing there, but that was denied by the city. Now they plan an underground parking garage and creating a park there. The Science Center and the Botanical Gardens are partnering with DUWO on this plan.

• this park would openly connect with the Botanical Gardens, yet currently there are still some legal issues to be resolved with this. This idea is like the Westergasfabriek

• they are planning on getting activities from other faculties to the Science Center to expand their activities
• they have been in business just over one year and have 9 people on staff and not much money yet

• they had 38.300 visitors last year, of which 11.000 students ages 9-16 who come in classes with their schools

• most of the visitors come from the Delft/haaglanden and randstad. Not so much from the rest of the country

• they really want to be connected to the TU as a whole

• The Science Center is working together with for example the Architecture faculty with Hyperbody who have a space in the Science Center. Also the computer science department has a place and the industrial design department

• The Science center does not really work to facilitate any information FOR TU students yet.

• Nor show the coherence of the TU as a whole, just individual parts of the products of faculties.

park options

• the park is a large refuge island (vluchtheuvel) and hardly used

• they want to do something with the Dutch water cycle, as TU Delft does a lot of research in this area

• or something to do with climate, or public urinals that give out technical information on your outpourings like heat and chemical energy

• the summer, weekend and evenings are important thinking of options as those are times when there are no students around !

• the park will be a sort of backyard for the students living in the student housing

• the Science Center has 2 inner courtyards, and as such don't really need to use the park as visits are still limited. But if there is a restaurant or something they would need a bigger area to facilitate this growth somehow.

• the park is empty, it is not a 'verblijfsruimte' a place where you STAY. No connection with the area and it's residents... residents and students need a REASON to GO there...

Back to home >>