The Coïmbrapad is set to change. And you can vote on the design.

“Students find the square far too grey,” says student Rania Shehata. A survey among residents last October also showed there was a need for more plants and trees, as well as better wheelchair access. But above all, the colour was an issue.

No one sits there now

“I never sit there myself either.” Rania is a board member of the Johanna building and also lives there. “During lunch, the Coïmbrapad is far too crowded, and outside those hours it’s completely deserted.”
Could that also be due to the Dutch weather? Rania responds firmly: “We, the local residents, really want to be outside, even when it’s cold. When I see the current designs, they actually make me feel happy.”

For two years now, she and other resident representatives have been working towards a more liveable USP. They want more facilities and more say. For the past year and a half, the parties involved have been working together with them. These include both the university and the university of applied sciences, the Municipality of Utrecht, SSH, and the USP Foundation.

Rania has put a lot of effort into making the USP more inviting. If stakeholders don’t consider your idea realistic, you have to reflect with yourself: do you push on, or do you let it go?

Artificial grass and a sheltered garden

One of the designs notably includes artificial grass. “Originally, it was meant to be real grass,” Rania explains. “But then the question arose as to how realistic that was. Grass quickly turns muddy, so we chose this option instead: the ‘Happy Carpet’. It’s used at Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam and it works well.”

The survey will be further distributed within HU, the university, nearby hospitality venues, and the SPAR. Everyone connected to the USP can choose between the Happy Carpet and the Sheltered Garden. Voting is open until 25 January.

Before the start of summer (21 June), the current benches will be reused and replaced by the new design.