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A visit to the construction site: Instawalk in the University City

What exactly is going on behind the barricade fence in the University City? AU’s student life ambassadors were given the chance to find out when they went on an Instawalk through the University City’s red buildings. Equipped with mobile phones and a competent guide, they set off to take pictures, hear some amusing anecdotes and learn more about the new University City.

The University City covers a total of 110,000 km2, which will primarily be used for university purposes – but there will also be room for housing, businesses and urban life in and around the red buildings. Photo: Casper Dam.

The tour began in the visitor centre, where engaging visualisations, videos and models animated the University City’s development so far and the future plans for the area. This narrative was enriched by amusing anecdotes and hard facts supplied by Lars Storr, who is the project manager at FEAS (Forskningsfondens Ejendomsselskab A/S), which owns the University City.
If you want to know more about the University City, you can stop by the visitor centre at Peter Sabroes Gade 17. It is open Tuesdays 10-12 and Thursdays 14-16:30. Photo: Tuyen Vo

Get your helmet on

From the visitor centre, the tour continued to the University City construction site itself, but not before all the student life ambassadors had been equipped with helmets, vests and safety shoes.
There are strict health and safety rules on the construction site in the University City. So helmets, vests and safety shoes have to be worn in order to enter the site, where just over 100 skilled tradespeople perform their daily work. Photo: Sarah Kaagaard Dahl.

Everything has been stripped away

The first stop on the tour was a large building in the centre of the University City, which has been completely stripped of its interior – only the bare walls are left. From now until 2025, the building will be brought to life with vibrant study environments, classrooms and offices, which will be created for the Department of Economics and Business Economics at Aarhus BSS.
The bare walls are currently all there is to see, but a new study and teaching environment will emerge over the coming years. Photo: Tuyen Vo

132 student housing units will be rented out this summer

The next stop was the new student housing units, which have undergone a thorough renovation process to enable students to move in this summer. These units were originally built as nursing homes before being turned into a patient hotel, and now they will become housing units for AU’s students.

This summer, the renovated one-room and two-room student housing units will be able to house approx. 170 AU students who will be living right in the centre of the University City. Photo: AART Architects.

The University City will be car-free

Aside from busy construction vehicles, no other cars can be spotted in the University City, as the area is car-free (with the exception of special deliveries and disability driving). This means there will be no parking spaces in the central square. Instead, a large underground car park is being built, which the student life ambassadors were able to explore.
The underground car park is expected to be ready in 2025 and will have room for approx. 160 cars. Photo: Mathilde Damm Kjeldsen

AU has already moved in

After the underground car park, the tour continued to the new study and teaching facilities at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, which was the first department to relocate to the University City. Here the student life ambassadors looked at laboratories, classrooms, offices, study spaces and a lecture theatre for approx. 150 people.

The tour ended in the University City’s tallest tower, where the ambassadors enjoyed a stunning view of the University Park.

The view from the red University City to the yellow University Park, where a new passage below Nørrebrogade is currently being built. Photo: Casper Dam.

Facts

  • An Instawalk is when people take their mobile phone cameras on a group excursion and post the photos on Instagram afterwards.
  • The student life ambassadors are a small group of students helping AU to show student life as they experience it and to promote the good sides of student life on social media platforms. The photos from the tour of the University City were posted on Instagram with the hashtags #Universitetsbyen and #Yourniversity.

More information

Revised 15.03.2024