There's always an abundance of bicycles to be found on the university grounds. There were already a number of bicycle sheds present at the UMCG site, but for the students it seemed that the capacity was far too low. A new bicycle shed was therefore necessary and it was developed for positioning on the site between the small scale historical hospital pavilions and the large-scale UMCG complex.

In order to preserve the view of the historically rich character of the pavilions, it was decided to construct the building as low as possible. The bicycle sheds, with room for 600 cycles, are spread over two layers, whereby the bottom layer has been recessed for a metre below the surface level. Hence the edge of the building is only 3.5 metres high. The central zone with a round roof has been raised in such a manner that the pedestrian zones have an adequate height, but this is not visible from the surface level.

The character of the building is reserved. Simple materials such as zinc-plated expanded metal and rough concrete cause it to be a peaceful object, leaving its surroundings for what it is. The expanded metal as well as the daylight strips in the roof allow for an adequate visibility and light, so that a social safety comes about. The concrete walls at the entrances are differentiated in colours, and arrows on the formwork indicate the direction of the ramps. At night the expanded metal is lit by the light-fittings which have been sewn onto the fa_ade like buttons: due to a twisting of the metal fa_ade sections a sparkling and playful image comes about.