The opening hours of our buildings are changing; this is how
In 2025, a number of things are changing regarding the opening hours of university buildings. A large number of buildings will be closing earlier and a four-week summer period will be introduced during which most UU buildings are closed. These changes are all about sustainability, cost reduction and a more efficient use of services.
These changes are the outcome of a study on more efficient opening hours that was announced last year. This evaluation looked at how much the over 80 university buildings are visited and how opening hours could be adjusted accordingly. Relevant parties such as faculties and study associations and the Educational Logistics Working Group were involved in the process. Following the analysis, it was decided that a large part of the buildings would be closed outside normal opening hours.
The memo “Adjusted opening hours of buildings and receptions” (‘aanpassing opengingstijden gebouwen en recepties’ in Dutch) will be discussed with the University Council on February 3 and 10. The public meeting on February 10 can be attended by students and staff. Since the memo is already publicly available on the intranet (in the council documents) it was decided to communicate about these plans in advance.
What are the key changes?
Opening hours
The opening hours of a large part of the buildings will be adjusted, with some buildings closing earlier or opening later. For evening and Summer activities, staff and students will soon be able to visit one of six buildings with a hub function (read more below). Opening hours will be changed in phases over the coming period. Details of what will be changing when, will follow. The overview of all changing opening hours can be found in this document. Buildings not listed in this overview will not see any changes to their opening hours.
Summer closure
For four weeks in the summer period, all educational buildings and some office buildings will be closed. The remaining buildings will be subject to a summer schedule with modified opening hours; the overview can be found in the document mentioned above. What four weeks these are, will be announced soon - this message will be updated accordingly.
Hubs are open
For evening and summer activities, students and staff will soon be able to visit buildings with a so-called hub function. These will be:
City Centre
Utrecht Science Park
- Androclus building
- Koningsberger building external link
- Ruppert building external link/Educatorium*
- Universiteitsbibliotheek USP
*Ruppert/Educatorium will be closed during the summer closure, barring already scheduled exams.
What does this mean for students and staff?
‘Over the past few months, we have been discussing with faculties and services how the UU community studies and works in our buildings ,’ explains Ceel Roozeboom, deputy director Campus & Facilities. ‘So that we could take into account the needs of students and staff in all plans. We are therefore hopeful that a large proportion of students and staff may not notice much of the changes. But we also realise that there is a part of the UU community for whom this will have a real impact. For example, because they will no longer be able to work or study in the building they are used to during holiday periods or evenings. That will take some getting used to.’
When?
The changes will be phased in until September 2025. Building users will be informed of the details of changes with targeted communication on the what and when. The longer end-of-year closure was implemented for the first time last December. The policy will be reviewed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Why these changes?
With these changes, we want to reduce the amount of unnecessary heating, lighting and ventilation in little used buildings. This will reduce energy consumption and thus contribute to our sustainability goals. In addition, the modified opening hours are expected to save €200,000 annually on operational costs and €130,000 on electricity costs.