University of Leiden

Leiden, Netherlands

In education

Bright white university atrium with two white Hopper picnic tables with wooden tops beside a railing, framed by a large palm leaf in the foreground and tall windows along the opposite wall.

The beautiful Science Campus of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands has multiple Hopper picnic tables on different levels. It’s a modern, open and communicative building in which the various research institutes are interconnected.

The design of the campus functions as an inspiring and expressive environment where different users come together. The long Hopper picnic tables serve this purpose by letting everyone slide in easily at the sides and collaborate on their projects.

Long Hopper picnic table with wooden seats beside a sweeping curved staircase with dark steps in a bright, open interior.

Did you know that this Leiden laboratory building has a BREEAM-NL Very Good certificate? This international certificate means that the building meets very high sustainability requirements. So, it’s no surprise that the architects chose the functional and durable wooden Hopper picnic tables to fill the shared spaces.

Two white Hopper picnic tables with wooden tops on an upper floor, set against a perforated wall that filters daylight into the atrium.

Symmetrical view across the open atrium with four Hopper table ends in the foreground, white railings, and multiple bright circulation levels receding into the distance.

'Silence please'... or is it 'science please'?

This artwork by Martijn Sandberg is like an echo between "Silence Please" and "Science Please", in terms of sound, shape and equal number of letters. Silence plays a key role in creative processes, such as the practice of art, music and scientific research. Sound damping, the reduction of noise and reverberation, is linked to the functional character of this acoustic wall.