Circularity is the basis for dismantling MGB

The Martinus G. de Bruinge building has been part of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at today's Utrecht Science Park since 1965. The building is to be dismantled in 2025/2026. This is because the faculty will get a new and sustainable faculty building on the site of the Martinus G. de Bruinge Building (MGB). But what can we still do with the current building? To find out, the building is being offered on the Gebouwenmarktplaats (Building Marketplace).

High-quality reuse of a building

Because of the recent (re)construction of many building products, MGB lends itself extremely well to reusing large parts. We are therefore investigating the feasibility of integrating existing materials and products from Martinus G. de Bruin building into other construction projects. Our ambition does not stop there.

We don't want to waste time and increase the chances of high-quality reuse. From our public role as a university, we bear a great social responsibility in shaping a sustainable society. This is why we offer the MGB on the Gebouwenmarktplaats. Supported by a large-scale campaign, we thus bring the building to the attention of architects and developers who design and develop a new building based on the MGB. This unique approach should lead to high-quality reuse of large building components and construction elements from the Martinus G. de Bruinge building.

From linear to circular

The construction sector in the Netherlands currently still largely rests on a linear system, which is unsustainable in the long term. Simply put: in a linear process, we mine raw materials from the earth, we use them and then there is no longer an owner of this raw material. And it is demolished and thrown away. If we keep doing this, eventually we will run out of raw materials and will not be able to build. In fact, this model results in unnecessary scarcity, waste of valuable resources, environmental pollution and CO2 emissions. We therefore need a different approach: a circular approach.