From Monday 22 December 2025 to Friday 2 January 2026, several buildings on campus will be closed. During this period, there will be a number of mandatory days off, and experience from previous years shows that many students and staff members are absent for the entire Christmas holiday. The number of buildings that will be closed has increased compared to last year. As was the case last year, the catering facilities on campus will be closed during this period.
The purpose of this Christmas closure is to save on energy consumption and costs for facility services, such as cleaning and reception. In the closed buildings, lighting and heating will remain largely off, as will facilities such as coffee machines and printers.
Buildings that will be closed
From Monday 22 December 2025 to Friday 2 January 2026, the following buildings will be closed:
Aula
Berchmanianum
Elinor Ostrom building (lob 3, 5 and 7)
Erasmus building
Grotius building
Huize Heyendael
Huygens building Please note: due to construction work, the Huygens Building, with the exception of the Science Library, will be closed until 8 January 2026.
Maria Montessori building
Mercator I
Villa Oud-Heyendael
Researchers with continuous access to the laboratories in the Huygens or Maria Montessori buildings will retain access in accordance with existing arrangements. As during the previous Christmas closure, Lob 1 of the Elinor Ostrom building will offer workspaces for staff from the closed buildings. More information about the facilities in the EOS will follow later.
Customisation
During the previous Christmas closure (2024), an assessment was made of which users would require customisation during this period. The customisation will be prepared in the coming period together with the users concerned, including points from the evaluation of the summer closure that are relevant to the Christmas closure.
Sports and study workplaces
The University Library, including the study workplaces and the Coffee Corner, will remain open. The campus-wide availability of study workplaces during the exam period has been assessed, and with the University Library open, there will be sufficient study workplaces for the expected number of students. The Gymnasion (RSC) will also be open during this period. However, adjusted opening hours will apply during the holidays. All opening hours will be posted on the website in due course: buildings on campus.
Pilot project ‘Opening hours in line with usage’
The Christmas closure is part of the pilot project ‘Opening hours in line with usage’. With this pilot project, the university aims to make more efficient use of buildings on campus. This pilot project is part of the university's broader cost-saving initiative. Interim evaluations provide insight and form the basis for policy in the coming years. The experiences from the summer pilot are currently being processed and a proposal is being prepared to adjust regular opening hours.
Contact information
Do you have any questions about the Christmas closure? Please contact the Service Centre.
