Prime Minister Balkenende opens HanzeForum

On Tuesday the 25th of November 2008, Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende officially opened the new HanzeForum in Groningen, The Netherlands. The HanzeForum is an integral part of the Zernike Campus, a lively area where education, knowledge-building and entrepreneurship come together.

The Prime Minister started his visit at the Atrium of the Van Olst Tower to unveil the artwork of Marthe Röling. After that he toured the campus area and revealed the new name of the building of the Institute for Sports Studies.

West 8 designed the master plan for the Zernike Campus and made the detailed landscape design for the HanzeForum. The area will transform from a rigid urban grid with anonymous buildings into a green Campus. The individual buildings of the Hanze Hogeschool enfold the HanzeForum. A large fountain with a circular bench creates a meeting point on the Forum.