The timing was a bit inconvenient, and the request was not well received by everyone: ‘Do you want to empty your desk and cabinet? In a week and a half, the renovation of your workplaces will start. And, by the way: the movers only have time next week.’

Some panic broke out, especially among the PhD students: ‘We are doing research at our desk, should we take our equipment down every evening from now on and set it up again in the morning? Are we sure that we will all have a place to work? And: Can we still work quietly during the summer?’

Students also got stressed: cleaning up must be done at the end of each semester, but now all the cupboards also had to be emptied because they had to be moved. There were two options: pack up and take it home or throw it away. Also, exams and graduation presentations are planned at the end of the semester. Graduates like to be able to work on their prototype until the very last moment. Meanwhile, the biggest panic seems to be over.

The planning of the project is tight, because the workspaces must be ready for use again on September 1. Not only will the open office spaces and studios be rearranged, but a few walls will also be placed to create more quiet workplaces.

There are many parties involved: the users of the building, the LIS employees, who have to disconnect the desks, the movers, who have to make way for the contractor, the facility management employees who are trouble shooting everywhere, the communication staff and coordinators, who try to inform everyone as well as possible about what, when, and why. And afterwards, all these parties are involved in the relocation of the furniture into the new set-up.

In short, there will be a lot going on in the usually quiet summer months. Hopefully we will see everyone back again in the newly renovated ID floors in the Atlas building at the start of the new academic year.

Annemarie van Malsen is a communications officer at TU/e’s Department of Industrial Design. The views expressed in this column are her own.