Libertas student tower is a student housing project at the corner of Vrydemalaan and Wouter van Doeverenplein in Groningen, in the Netherlands. It forms part of development on the Bodenterrein, north of the University Medical Center Groningen, an area intended to connect the Oosterpark neighbourhood with the city centre.1
The project was developed in collaboration between the Municipality of Groningen, housing association Nijestee and property developer Koopmans; KENK Architects designed the tower.1 Koopmans’ project information describes an 18-storey tower with 19 building levels, while other project sources describe it as 60 metres high.234
Libertas provides 270 student rooms, arranged in clusters of seven or eight. Each room has a private bathroom, and residents share a kitchen within each cluster. The building also includes shared hospitality, study and laundry facilities, as well as a communal roof terrace.14 The housing was planned for international students, including students at University College Groningen, and is managed by SSH Student Housing.1910
The tower was completed in November 2022, after 19 months of construction, and students began moving in the following year.911 KENK’s Pim Köther discussed the design in the project coverage: the building has a double-height plinth for common facilities, a wide canopy and varied window forms. Its flexible structural layout is intended to allow a different residential programme in future.1