Past and present

DEVELOPMENT

From Johannapolder to Utrecht Science Park

text Jurgen Sijbrandij images Het Utrechts

Archief, Utrecht Science Park

1980 Compared to today’s Utrecht Science Park (USP), De Uithof still looks very unimposing in this aerial photograph. Some twenty years earlier, the area was still known as the Johannapolder and was deserted except for a few farms. And yet this photograph was taken during a period of stagnation, as Faculty of Geosciences researcher Egbert van der Zee explains. There wasn’t much money available in the 1970s and 1980s, and a clear vision for the area was yet to be developed. Some of the temporary structures built at the time, such as the Langeveld building, are still in place today. For a clear example of this ‘planning standstill’, look no further than the dead-end air bridge at the Sjoerd Groenman building. Despite the original intention of protecting staff and students from the elements, this idea was quickly abandoned in favour of healthy outdoor air.

From the 1990s onwards, there was no shortage of plans as many new buildings, businesses and finally also housing units started to spring up on campus. The tram line was also eventually realised. These days, the Utrecht Science Park is certainly far from at a standstill. Still, the new era has its own challenges: for example, older buildings need to be adapted to the sustainability requirements of the future, and getting to USP remains an ongoing issue in view of future student numbers. The various parties at Utrecht Science Park have also expressed their ambition to lend the area more character and atmosphere. It makes you wonder what an aerial photograph of the area will look like in 2060.

2020