Corporate Real Estate and Facilities (FCO) is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the buildings on the campus as well as providing facility services to the very diverse group of campus-based end users.
Teaching and research are the university’s principal raison d’être. So we need buildings that are fit places for our students to attend lectures and to study. Places where our staff can give lectures, conduct research and support our students in their studies. Some of our buildings date back to the 1970s. These structures are in need of renovation or replacement because they no longer meet today’s requirements, are expensive to maintain, or are not sufficiently energy-efficient. Flexibility, sustainability and cost awareness are key principles when it comes to the development of our campus. New approaches to teaching and new styles of working are taking shape through the renovation and redesign of the university’s buildings, and this trend will continue into the future. With the arrival of on-campus student accommodation and more extensive sports and cultural programmes, the campus is becoming an ever more integrated part of the city.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam’s core values are: responsible, open, and personally engaged. These core values can be directly linked to FCO’s preferred approach – highly service-oriented and helpful, accessible and reliable.
FCO’s primary goal is to create a welcoming and inspiring environment where academic teaching and research can excel. An environment in which students, staff and visitors can feel at home, and one that is appealing to all members of the university community. A place where we can work and learn together. A place that knows no boundaries between countries, faculties and disciplines.
The organization consists of several components, each with its own fields and responsibilities. Although some components are more facility-focused than others, what they have in common is that all activities are aimed at creating an ideal academic working environment. The Real Estate Management and Services departments actively cooperate to deliver day-to-day services. The development and commissioning of a new complex is one instance in which their broad-based, systematic cooperation is particularly evident. The complex itself, the layout of facilities such as laboratories and teaching and learning spaces, as well as maintenance and facility activities will all have to mesh together flawlessly upon completion.