The place we, as ReportID, personally missed the most during this quarantine. A place where coziness is the key, where you can drink beer, play games, and chat with your friends or with total strangers. Clearly, we are talking about ID Kafee, the heart of the faculty. Have you ever thought about how this magic place came into being, how it changed over the years, and all the things this part of the building experienced? Here is everything you need to know. Fun facts to brag with to your friends, when you are having your next beer in ID Kafee.
By Report ID 2019 | 2020
The ID Kafee as we know it isn’t that old after all. Five years ago, it was totally renovated. Before this, ID Kafee still was a cozy place, but smaller. The boardroom was downstairs and there was also a committee room downstairs. There was less light from outside which made it darker than the bright place we know.
IDE wouldn’t be IDE if the Board 41 themselves started envisioning the new ID Kafee. Later on, two housemates of the chairman at the time were given the opportunity to develop this idea. These housemates were Architecture students and they had their own architectural firm, called “van Weelden de Wilde”. After long deliberation, Board 42 got permission to build the new ID Kafee. The following year, this plan was set in motion.
During the renovation, Board 43 of course had to keep working. Therefore, they used the IDE Arena, which was just an empty hall back then. This temporary space got divided into four parts: the boardroom, the storage, the kitchen, and a chill zone. Therefore all the furniture needed to be moved upstairs, including the pinball machines, but a lot has also been discarded or auctioned. The bar pieces have been given as presents to ID members and one piece, you might have come across in ID Kafee as a table!
The reopening took longer than hoped for and was postponed several times, because of the many standards that had to be met. The faculty is a government building, which leads to all these complications for purchasing items. Things like who would finance the bar and who would make the furniture had to be discussed. Also the faculty had requests, e.g. they wanted the dark grey color to be the exact same as the one in the other parts of the faculty.
In the end, it became a race against time, the construction workers had to keep working on the weekends and the last part of the bar was placed just an hour before the opening, the same moment Koen, the chairman of Board 43, was finishing his speech.
However, the beer installation wasn’t finished yet, so the first two weeks they had to work with an old tap, which mostly produced foam and was always overheated. There was also a lack of money for the standing tables, but luckily there is enough creative talent available at this faculty, so the IDE’ers made those themselves.
The renovation took about six months in total. Not all events could take place in that time, just like last year. Fortunately, the weekly drinks could take place at The Hague University of Applied Sciences at NOVA including our own Tappers and the ID Kafee committee.
When ID Kafee finally could be opened, the dean proudly speeched, and as a present she gave the famous bell, which still is hanging next to the bar. Many other speeches took place, and ofcourse, as it should at ID Kafee, it was celebrated with lots of beer!
Now, four years later, ID Kafee still is a favorite place for many IDE’ers. We hope the new first year students will get to experience it too, and also that the rest of us can return soon to play soccer table, a card game, eat ice cream, but mostly to enjoy the cosiness with a nice glass of beer. Luckily, it has been reopened again. If ID Kafee takes place, you can reserve a table for Wednesday afternoon. Here you can find up-to-date information on ID Kafee!
Source: Chairman Board 43 Koen Luijkx