In 2020, POM Limburg and several partners designed a master plan for the campus in Diepenbeek, which was recently named Limburg DC – where “DC” stands for “Diepenbeek Campus”. Limburg DC will be a lively, sustainable, green campus based on the American model, where knowledge institutions, the business world and stakeholders can meet. Limburg DC will consist of three major parts: the education campus with Hasselt University, PXL and UCLL, the Health Campus Limburg DC and the Construction Campus 2.0. The new gateway will form part of the Health Campus and will house an open innovation centre for healthcare. 

Construction Team
Late last year, the design by the Paris-based architecture firm, Studio Muoto, in collaboration with Flemish Tab Architects, was selected as the winner following an open call by the Flemish Master Builder. The construction team is now being expanded to include two contractor companies, the Lummen-based Vanderstraeten and the construction company Cordeel from Temse. The Health Campus Manager, Roeland Buckinx informs us: “Although that is not traditionally the practice, we are deliberately choosing to involve the contractor as early as the preliminary design phase. Experience tells us that this will have a positive impact on the cost, the delivery time and the quality of the execution.”  

Polished
The preliminary design of Muoto-Tab has been further polished over the past few months, and that is now providing new images. Roeland Buckinx tells us: “The gateway will be the face of the campus to the outside world, and should be a literal reflection of the site’s towering ambitions. The gate will consist of two parts, a gatehouse and a parking building, with a connecting bridge between the two. Not only the imposing architecture, but also the green character will be immediately striking. By the way, this is also in line with American campuses, which are often surrounded by nature.”  

Show piece
The gatehouse, as the main building of the Health Campus, will house all kinds of facilities which will encourage collaboration in healthcare innovation. Roeland Buckinx tells us: “The show piece is a large auditorium on the tenth floor with a breathtaking view of the entire campus.” The lower parking building will provide space for catering. Of particular note is that the access road to the campus will run through that building. “So visitors can literally swap their car in the parking building for a bike, scooter or any other sustainable means of transportation.”  

The laying of the foundation stone will take place in February ’24
Over the next nine months, architects and contractors will work closely together as a construction team in order to optimise further the preliminary design, all without compromising the original concept. “We now anticipate that the foundation stone can be laid in February 2024, and calculate that it will take about two years to build the entrance gate. The implementation is possible thanks to the support of the European Regional Development Fund,” Roeland Buckinx tells us.