UNU-MERIT has found a new home in the ex-Sphinx offices on Boschstraat, Maastricht. We will rent the property for 20 years and, after a renovation period, move in during the course of 2015. The new building will provide around 3,000 square metres, roughly a quarter more than our current facilities, which were increasingly cramped due to a recent growth in staff and student numbers.
Alderman Gerdo van Grootheest (Urban Planning, Nature and Sport) welcomed the resettlement of UNU-MERIT within the Belvédère Development Project, calling it: “a perfect example of reuse. Renovating historic buildings with flexible, temporary and permanent functions is a key policy for Belvédère. Additionally, UNU-MERIT’s profile – young, dynamic and international – dovetails with the City Council’s plans for the area.”
In a special ceremony at the Town Hall, on 19 December, the rental agreement was signed by UNU Rector David M. Malone and Maastricht Mayor Onno Hoes. Rector Malone was flanked by members of the UNU-MERIT international advisory board, who were meeting in Maastricht to review our biennial report. See below for the images from the ceremony and the visit to the building site.
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CREDITS
Belvédère Project; UNU-MERIT / S.Brodin