Christine Nellemann, DTU Food; Niels Tækker Foged, DTU Vet; and Fritz W. Köster, DTU Aqua each received a key to their brand new home. Photo: Thorkild Amdi Christensen.

DTU's new crown jewel

Biotechnology and biochemistry Food, fish and agriculture
DTU Aqua, DTU Food, and DTU Vet have just been given the keys to their new domicile at Lyngby Campus. The departments expect to move into their new facilities over the course of the spring.

On 15 December, the three heads of department from DTU Aqua, DTU Food, and DTU Vet were each presented with a symbolic key to their new domicile at Lyngby Campus. This happened at a small reception in the Biosphere, which is a centralized indoor area in Building 202 with access to canteen, conference facilities, and open lounge areas.

The keys were CNC-milled from pieces of one of the oak trees that were felled on site in order to make room for the new building. In his speech to the guests at the reception, Claus Møller Rasmussen, Head of Real Estate at DTU, said among other things: "Today, we hand the keys over to you. Promise us to take good care of the building complex. It's DTU's new crown jewel."

The entire project counts Buildings 201-205 and is DTU's largest construction project which includes new construction and renovation of around 50,000 m2. The buildings will house a significant part of DTU's life science and bioengineering activities and provide the framework for a unique academic environment with ultra-modern facilities devoted to network formation and research. The building will house laboratories, offices, conference rooms, teaching facilities, and canteen and café areas, which are intended as areas of social interaction for this part of DTU Lyngby campus. It is expected that the departments will move into their new facilities over the course of spring.

Entrance through 1,200 doors
"In order to shed light on what this building contains, I can tell you that 40,000 m3 of soil have been dug out to make room for the house. We have used 6,000 concrete elements and 80 km soft joints here in Building 202, which is approx. 28,000 square metres. And 750,000 man hours have been invested in the process. Moreover, the building has a ring ventilation system circulating approx. 325,000 m3 of air per hour. There are approx. 1.3 km worktops in the nearly 250 laboratories in the building—and you can enter the house through 1,200 doors. So there is definitely the risk of getting lost," said Claus Møller Rasmussen.

Building 202 is linked to the two existing Buildings 201 and 204, which each measures 7,000 m2, via walkways on two floors. The two buildings, which were previously laboratory buildings for DTU Chemistry, among other things, have been completely renovated and furnished, mainly as offices. North of these buildings, a new Building, 205A, will be built, and this will be the last part of the building complex and a high-class laboratory for veterinary research.