The ten best spots on campus

A signpost for freshmen

Read more

The ten best spots on campus

As a first-year student, just knowing how to find the TU/e campus may be enough to keep you smiling, but trust us, soon you'll know this sprawling site like the back of your hand. In the meantime, here's a helping hand from Cursor: a list of the top ten places to be. These are drawn from our personal favorites, and while tastes may differ, we hope you will find it useful. Try climbing to the highest floor of Atlas, playing a ditty on the piano in the Markthal, or going on an expedition to the home of our very own TU/e beaver. You won't regret it.

by
photo Bart van Overbeeke

1. Exotic sandwiches

Did you know that you are just as welcome in the canteens belonging to other departments as you are in your own? The sandwiches in Flux are not only for the students and staff of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics. And why not try a salad from the eatery in Gemini (where mostly people from Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering hang out). In Helix (that grey H-shaped building for our chemists) they make delicious soup and sweet pastries, and more. But suppose you've got time on your hands and are looking for a truly adventurous lunch? Then walk over to the Student Sports Centre. The menu is totally different, the prices are fine and – bonus – there is a terrace.

2. Skywards

Has it already occurred to you that from the top floors of the tall buildings on campus you can enjoy magnificent views? Not to be missed is the stairwell in Atlas. On the side facing the Auditorium, you look out westwards, on the side facing MetaForum the church spires in Geldrop punctuate the horizon. In the past – sorry – student athletics association Asterix used to hold their lighthearted tower-running (stair racing) championships. Perhaps an idea if intro-groups are looking to pit themselves (especially their fitness) against each another? You'll find another high point in Vertigo. Why not take the elevator up to the top floor. Look for the spires of St. Catharine's Church at Stratumseind! By the way, if you are visiting MetaForum, pop up to the roof terrace on the fourth floor some time. You'll find another cool vista and you can pull up a chair to enjoy it.

3. Table 30 on Meta 0

Or another table. On the ground floor of MetaForum you will find large tables where you can arrange to meet a group of fellow students for a communal study session. It can become a home port where you can 'moor up' whenever you want to grab a coffee with a friend, whenever your motivation runs dry or whenever one of your courses leaves you feeling out of your depth. We know someone who claims that he has just such a table to thank for his exam results and not missing deadlines.

4. Beaver lodge

Believe it or not, but the TU/e campus, right in the city, is home to a real-life beaver. The TU/e community has lovingly named him (or her) Woody and is eager to see whether a partner and baby beavers will also appear. We are keeping stum about the exact location of Woody's lodge because hordes of visitors would likely disturb this critter. But if you aren't deterred by getting your feet wet, why not go on an expedition along the Dommel, the shady river that weaves across the campus. Who knows, perhaps you will find gnawed trees, wood chippings, a dam, or the industrious beaver him- or herself. And, by the way, Woody is far from the only fauna the campus has to offer: countless rabbits, several bee colonies and a family of foxes are among its other residents. A special place in many a heart is reserved for Egbert, the solitary fish in the big pond outside Atlas – one of the few fish to have its own Instagram account: @egbertthefish.

5. Wind tunnel

Don't judge a book by a cover, as the saying goes, and the same applies to this dull, featureless block. That's because this building – Ventur – is actually a wind tunnel. It's where Professor Bert Blocken researches not only, for example, wind nuisance around tall buildings, but also the best equipment for cyclists and other athletes. With a bit of luck and a following wind, you might spot celebrity faces like Wout van Aert and Primoz Roglic.

6. Whispering art

In the beloved Efteling theme park not far from Eindhoven you can find toadstools that sing when you lay your ear against them. Something similar but with an academic twist can be found at TU/e: artworks that whisper mathematical formulas after sundown! So don't jump out of your skin if you are cycling past them after dark – no crazy mathematician is hiding in the bushes. And that's not all. The cylinder-shaped artworks of weathering steel project beautiful light plays into the evening sky carrying the words ‘TU/E WHERE INNOVATION STARTS’. The campus has three of these pieces; look near traffic barriers to find them.

7. Street art in Berenkuil and cycle tunnel

All sorts of striking sights are to be found not only on the campus but also surrounding the campus. Eindhoven is a city full of graffiti and other street art. There is even a project (Tunnel Vision) going on to adorn all the city's cycle tunnels and viaducts with colorful art. It seems that the municipality is taking its inspiration from the Berenkuil, the major roundabout to the southeast of the campus. For years, the cycle tunnels running beneath the roads there have provided graffiti artists with a canvas, see Instagram (@stepinthearena.official). Even the more simple cycle tunnel from the Stationsweg (across from the Effenaar) to the campus is worth a visit! Here, you'll find images of the legendary Ministry of Silly Walks sketch by Monty Python. In 2016 John Cleese visited Eindhoven in person to open ‘his’ tunnel.

8. Glider in the Markthal

When you are next standing in the covered Markthal beside MetaForum, don't forget to look up! Because you'll see a life-sized glider. The aircraft is a gift from ZES, the student gliding association; they wanted to thank the Executive Board for all their support. Can you bang out a tune? Then why not sit down at the outdoor piano in the Markthal. Feel free to tag Cursor (@cursortueindhoven) if you post a clip of your virtuoso performance on Instagram, we'd like to share it in our stories.

9. Basketball court and petanque pitch

When you're not engaging your brain studying perhaps you'd like a physical challenge? If so, why not find the basketball court in the green field between Luna and the Dommel and shoot some hoops. If a slower pace is your thing, there's the petanque pitche in the same field. Either way, the rule is bring your own ball(s)! Fervent about another sport? Then head for the Student Sports Centre across the bridge, on the other side of the Dommel River.

10. Movie theater

During the sixty-five years the campus has existed, many buildings have been put to a new use. Residential tower Luna started life as a departmental building for Electrical Engineering, Atlas was home to the mathematicians, and the building that will soon house Eindhoven Artificial Intelligence Systems Institute (EAISI) - Neuron - was originally Rekencentrum (the calculation center), built to house the first computers. Likewise, the fine movie theater in the Zwarte Doos has had a previous life: as a chemistry lecture theater. From Monday through Wednesday this is where you can watch movies chosen for you by the film committee (which includes student members; sign up here if you're interested). See our Cursor events diary for the movies.

Share this article