All in the family

Some families have several generations who all study at TU Delft. In this series, parents and grandparents discuss their student days with their children and grandchildren. Read the full version here.

After completing his studies Mechanical Engineering, Grandpa Rinus le Mahieu has seen plenty of his descendants at TU Delft. First his daughter Marie (Architecture) and now grandchildren Maurice (Industrial Design) and Lauranne (Clinical Technology). Grandpa Rinus found a room through his sister who was already living in Delft. He later moved to Duivelsgat, barracks along the Schie close to Paardenmarkt. Marie lived in an attic room close to the church while she was studying. She answered an ad in the Delftse Courant. The landlord had drawn her name out of over 500 applications. When she thinks back to her room, she shivers. Literally, as it could be very cold. “That cold that my duvet froze in winter. When the snow started blowing in, I fixed insulation to the roof.”
Maurice and Lauranne remark that even in their aunt’s time at TU Delft, there was a shortage of accommodation. "Maybe it wasn’t as bad as now as it took me six months to find a room," says Lauranne. Maurice was luckier. He found a great house through his cousin and could even choose his housemates. He moved to the Koornmarkt this year. “It’s exactly across the road where Grandpa used to live. The circle is closed.”