Right in the heart of The Hague’s city centre, a major new university building opened its doors in February 2026: The Spui Campus. Renovation transformed the former department store into a shared academic environment for around 4,000 students and staff from Universiteit Leiden, TU Delft, Open Universiteit, LUMC and Universiteiten van Nederland.

From department store to university building

Through a large-scale renovation and the addition of a new volume, the former retail property has been transformed into a fully functioning university building. The main entrance has been restored to its original position on Spui, marked by the monumental façade. From there, warm wooden staircases guide visitors up through the building.

What were once closed floor plates typical of a department store have been completely opened up. By opening floors and roof, adding new windows to the façades and introducing generous multi-storey openings, daylight and cohesion have been brought back into the heart of the structure.

The building now features a modern interior with a high degree of transparency and offers flexible study and workspaces, a university library, teaching rooms, seminar rooms and lecture halls. The restaurant on the second floor opens onto an outdoor terrace, while the sixth floor also includes exterior space. Fitness and sports centre Beehive is prominently located at street level in the new extension. Next to the main entrance, a passageway leads to an underground bicycle parking facility with space for more than 1,300 bicycles.

Working alongside other universities

The Spui Campus creates space for distinctive inter-university collaboration. Two new large Dutch-taught bachelor’s programmes will be launched in The Hague: Economics & Society and Cyber Security & Cyber Crime. Other education and research activities closely align with The Hague’s profile as the international city of peace and justice, as well as with its metropolitan, national and international character.

The Spui Campus is one of five Universiteit Leiden locations in The Hague, all situated in the heart of the city within walking distance of one another.

Grote Markt Climate Deal

Zowel CBRE (vastgoedeigenaar) als de Universiteit Leiden zijn aangesloten bij de klimaatdeal Den Haag in een initiatief van de Grote Marktstraat en omgeving. Het doel is om de daken beter in te zetten in de verduurzamingsopgave in de toch al zo dichtbebouwde binnenstad. Zo heeft het dak van het Spuigebouw zonnepanelen, een beetje groen en een fijn terras. De klimaatdeal is onderdeel van het Haags Klimaatakkoord.