Marge Klompé Building: Innovating the next generation of sustainable learning

The background

Established in 1927, Tilburg University is an international multidisciplinary university specialising in humanities and social sciences. With over 19,000 students, Tilburg is an inclusive and engaged academic community dedicated to sustainable and effective learning for all.

The project and building was named in honour of the first female Cabinet Minister of the Netherlands, Marge Klompé, a courageous, forward-thinking and pioneering visionary who was one of the architects behind the Dutch welfare state. The goal of the Marge Klompé project was to create a highly energy-efficient building that lends itself to delivering an inspiring learning and working environment while enhancing the university's educational infrastructure.

In line with Tilburg’s unwavering commitment to creating a greener learning environment, the Marge Klompé building is Europe’s first ever fully wooden university project. As a result of the chosen material, this was a significantly challenging project with several intricacies to navigate and obstacles to overcome. Kinly was appointed as Tilburg University’s trusted technology advisor to bring its sustainability vision to life through consultation and the design and integration of cutting edge AV solutions across the entire Marge Klompé building.

The solution

The Marge Klompé project is a true demonstration of how sustainability of the highest standard can be achieved through close collaboration. Despite the complexities of integrating technology into a fully wooden building, the project was delivered in just six-months.

Careful considerations surrounding mounting, sound, lighting, and cameras were required owing to the wooden architecture. On the ground floor sits an impressive 450-person auditorium showcasing a staggering 18m wide x 2.7m high Absen LED video wall. This was expertly integrated to deliver an optimal viewing experience for every participant in the room.  The auditorium offers lecturers the flexibility to present content from their own devices by choosing pre-programmed scenarios to either split or clone the display. This key feature ensures that all participants have an equal experience, no matter where they are seated.

Tilburg University now benefits from the option to host high quality productions and automated lecture scenarios through its control room using Blackmagic and Canon for mixing and effects, camera control and shading. These events can be live streamed, recorded and managed through Panopto's content management platform. In addition to the auditorium, a 100-person lecture room functions as an extra-large space that operates in exactly the same way with the same technology, on a slightly smaller scale.

The outcome

Working closely with Tilburg University, Kinly successfully delivered a state-of-the-art facility that has transformed the way the university operates from a technological perspective, while also providing a futureproofed, sustainable and easy to use building.

The completed Marge Klompé project comprises fourteen lecture halls and additional study spaces to accommodate 1,000 students. The project began on 1 August 2023 and was completed on 29 January 2024. Crucial to delivering this project on time and without any snags was the 12-week consultancy phase in which we were able to mitigate risks by making product and design decisions well before implementation, as well as rigorously testing the solutions for performance, reliability and longevity.

Sustainability was at the heart of this project and Tilburg University pushed the boundaries of the possible to deliver on its targets. As a renewable material, the wood building has a far less energy-intensive manufacturing process than steel and concrete, which contributes to considerably lower CO2 emissions. In addition, the building has been insulated using recycled jeans, textile waste that would otherwise be discarded. The cotton provides an innovative and circular way to insulate the building and has also worked to elevate acoustics.

We successfully met Tilburg’s ambitious sustainability goals using AVIXA standards and our own sustainability by design approach. This has led to the Marge Klompé building being awarded a BREEAM Outstanding sustainability certificate, an environmental assessment method for buildings where an Outstanding rating is the highest level achievable.

The testimonial

“We love working with the Kinly team. We’ve worked with them for a long time, know their strengths and have a developed a transparent relationship. By collaborating with Kinly during the consultancy phase, we prevented a lot of challenges. From a technical perspective, we chose solutions and tested them to make sure they would work which mitigated a lot of risks. We both have a high standard of quality and that works to deliver brilliant results like the Marge Klompé building at Tilburg University.

The new technology is making a huge difference. With Kinly’s support, we deployed two LED screens, which we hadn’t done before. We also introduced AV over IP and fully integrated light and AV control. This means that if the room is empty, the lights switch off and the AV system shuts down, making our operations as sustainable as possible.”

—Cees Vaandrager, AV & IT Engineer, Tilburg University