Accessibility of buildings and grounds of Utrecht University
If you are in a wheelchair or have another disability, such as being visually impaired, it is important to know how accessible the location you are going to is and which facilities are available.
On the internet pages Binnenstadscampus, Campus Utrecht Science Park and International Campus Utrecht, you can look up how to get to every Utrecht University location and see their individual facilities such as wheelchair access.
How is the accessibility of Utrecht University buildings for people with disabilities increased?
Accessibility is an important theme to Utrecht University. Translated to housing, this means that the university wants to provide everyone with as much access and independent access as possible to its buildings and grounds.
Small-scale projects
In pre-existing buildings, the departments Real Estate and Campus and Facility Services are solving bottlenecks in consultation with users. This often succeeds, but especially the monumental buildings in the city center can sometimes be quite a challenge. Small adjustments and serious accessibility problems will be addressed on short notice as much as possible.
Large-scale projects
Big adjustments will be subsumed under specific projects. For newly constructed buildings, the various guidelines and norms regarding provisions and facilities are taken into account from the design phase onwards. On top of that, these projects will be permanently monitored in order to safeguard the agreed-upon choices.
Baselines
In order to assess the adjustments to the accessibility of its buildings, Utrecht University uses the following baselines as starting points:
Finished projects
The concrete improvement of physical accessibility has already taken various forms. For example, entrances to the Koningsberger, David de Wied building, Janskerkhof 3 and the University Hall have been made more accessible, wheelchair spaces have been created in the lecture halls of the Ruppert building and the Bolognalaan and various study rooms, corridors and toilets have been made wheelchair accessible. The accessibility of the outdoor area has also been tackled in several places. Think of the adjustments to the tram area and the crossings of Leuvenlaan and Cambridgelaan, for example, and at various locations bicycle parking spaces have been created for employees and students who have difficulty walking.
Projects in preparation
Accessibility is integrally taken into account in the development of new Utrecht University projects. Think for example of the extension of the David de Wied building, the renovation of Achter Sint Pieter 200, the renovation of the University Museum and the adaptation of the Cambridgelaan car park.
The students of the platform are currently performing user tests at more than 50 buildings of the Utrecht University. Bottlenecks that this brings to light will be addressed. Solutions are implemented within specific projects or within the natural adaptation and maintenance cycle of the buildings. This is assessed per bottleneck and building. An example of a specific project are the adaptations that will soon be carried out in the Minnaert- en Koningsberger- and Buys Ballot buildings to improve accessibility.
For bottlenecks regarding a property that provides access to the university but does not belong to Utrecht University, Real Estate and Campus contacts entities such as the municipality or the public-transport company in question in order to improve the situation together.
More information
The Facility Service Centre and Real Estate and Campus issue a monthly newsletter on facility matters and real estate. Sign up for this newsletter (language: Dutch). Questions or remarks about the accessibility of the buildings of Utrecht University can be asked via the self-service portal (login required).
