The chemistry building at De Dreijen. Photo Resource The organization that promotes heritage has asked the municipality of Wageningen to temporarily protect the Chemistry Building (from 1958), the Computechnion (1987), the Agrotechnion (1990), and the De Valk building (1926) from demolition. At De Dreijen, the former campus of WUR, 550 homes are to be built.
The association wants the buildings to be given municipal monument status. Until that procedure is completed, they should be subject to so-called preliminary protection. The application is supported by the Cuypers Society, the Oud Wageningen Historical Society, and Wageningen Monumentaal.
Auditorium
The buildings are located on land that WUR has sold to project developer Gebroeders Blokland. Together with the municipality and a housing association, the developer wants to build a new residential area there. According to the current plans, the Computechnion and Agrotechnion would disappear completely. Only the auditorium of the Chemistry Building would be preserved. No decision has yet been made about De Valk.
According to Heemschut, the cultural-historical value of the buildings must first be thoroughly investigated. In 2022, the city council already decided that three of the four buildings – the Chemistry Building, De Valk and the Agrotechnion – should be investigated to see whether reuse or transformation is possible. According to Heemschut, it is not clear whether that investigation has been carried out.
Unnecessary
The sales agreement between WUR and the developer does not contain any provisions regarding the preservation of buildings of cultural and historical value. This was stated by Harold Swartjes, director of WUR’s Facilities Department, in a recent interview with Resource. According to Heemschut, demolition is not only a shame, but often also unnecessary. ‘The most sustainable building is a building that already exists.’
According to Heemschut, the Chemistry Building, with its façade art by Josje van Riemsdijk-Rab, is particularly noteworthy. The organization also believes that younger buildings such as the Computechnion and the Agrotechnion deserve attention ‘at a time when there is growing appreciation in the Netherlands for buildings from the period after 1965’.
Source: De Gelderlander/Bart Eulen
Translated using DeepL.com
