- Education
- Transformation
- Interior
- Restoration
- Sustainability
- New construction
- Advice
The listed Wiebenga Complex was built in 1922 as a technical school to a design by Jan Gerko Wiebenga. It is currently home to the School of Health Care Studies and the School of Nursing of the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen. DP6 Architectural Studio and BiermanHenket designed a renovation plan appropriate to the image of a modern health care academy: open and light, with a fresh look about it.
The original building and two later extensions have been renovated and the complex has been extended into the courtyard with a completely new wing. This has resulted in a functional, comfortable and sustainable educational building. The former courtyard has seen the addition of an elongated volume housing public areas and facilities. By making this new heart spacious and uncluttered, the school building has acquired a more open and light character. The newbuild encourages collaboration in ‘skills labs’ on a central location in the complex. The central space created by this process produces short lines to the working environments in the existing wings, encourages interaction and demonstrates collaboration over the entire width of the care chain.
- Design: 2013-2015
- Client: Hanze University of Applied Sciences
- Location: Groningen
- Delivery: 2018


Like Wiebenga’s design, the newbuild has an efficient structure with parallel lines and symmetrical building volumes. The flexibility of the building means the extra pressure as a result of increased educational intensity can be absorbed. The façade is constructed in white-green composite and glass, contrasting with the existing monument. Using prefab elements, the work could be carried out quickly with a minimum of inconvenience to the building users. The newbuild structure is antiseismic. The Wiebenga Complex is one of the oldest examples of the New Building Movement in the Netherlands and the spatial qualities of the listed building have been restored. The building has been completely renovated - original elements have been restored, the shell and technical systems have been made sustainable, lecture rooms, seminar rooms and offices have been redesigned.



‘The newbuild has resulted in renewed, logical accessibility of the building complex and is its new heart.’ It is located on the site of the former workshops of Wiebenga’s design. The flexibility of the building means the extra pressure as a result of increased educational intensity can be absorbed.’





‘The building has been completely renovated - original elements have been restored, the shell and technical systems have been made sustainable, lecture rooms, seminar rooms and offices have been redesigned.


The Wiebenga Hall - the former boardroom - has been restored. Both the space and the furniture have been carefully returned to their original condition. The Wiebenga Hall is used as a representative meeting place for students, teaching staff, researchers and business partners. During the construction process, the existing buildings of the Wiebenga Complex remained in use. In order to cause minimal inconvenience, prefab elements were used and the work was carried out in stages. The transformation of the Wiebenga Complex was developed in detail in a BIM model, which functioned as a central model by the entire construction team.

