NWO board chairman Marcel Levi officially reopened the renovated main building of the National Institute for Subatomic Physics Nikhef in Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon.
The Nikhef building, he said, forms a unifying element in Dutch particle physics. “A connection between the international and national worlds of science, between fundamental and applied research and between the very smallest and very largest units in our universe,” Levi said on Thursday.
Before the official opening ceremony, the NWO president performed a live particle experiment on the stage in the building’s new atrium. When a cosmic particle audibly hit the detector, a video show began, visually heralding the reopening.
The spectacular opening was witnessed by hundreds of Nikhef staff and invited guests, in the colloquium room and on the impressive wooden seating staircase of the new atrium, the Vertex.
The name of the hall emphasises the meeting aspect; in particle physics, the vertex is where particles interact. Part of the Vertex houses a permanent exhibition for visitors and guests on particle and astroparticle physics and Nikhef research in that field.
Prior to the opening ceremony, scientists and technicians from Nikhef and university partners spoke about Nikhef as an institute and partnership. Nikhef director Stan Bentvelsen said he was pleased with the way the Nikhef community has embraced the building right from the start.
Renovation of the Nikhef buildings began in March 2021 after years of preparation. Installations, functionality and the institute’s appearance were renewed and improved, and the entrance to the institute was moved to the front of Amsterdam Science Park, much more visible from the UvA complex across the street.
The design for the renewed building was made by a team of JHK Architects (design), Deerns (engineering) and Aronsohn (construction). The work was carried out by construction company SPIE.
Nikhef is a partnership between NWO’s institute organisation and six Dutch universities. At Nikhef, more than 300 scientists and technicians work together on research into the elementary building blocks of the universe, their mutual forces and the structure of space and time.
Watch the video that played just after the official reopening of the building:
Below: left- during the renovation and right- the result, the Vertex. Click to enlarge.
An insight into the happenings of the afternoon:
Photography: Marco Kraan/ Vanessa Mexner / Martine Oudenhoven / Nikhef