In the new design for DVDI and Advin the employees are the most important. Accommodation and workplace support became a strategic issue in this new office building with its own identity and atmosphere and a natural transparency, based on communication and human contact.
Keywords - Transparency - Integration - Intensive cooperation - Inviting and hospitable - Presentation
Design
The site is part of Beukenhorst Zuid and lies effectively at the head of any possible subsequent developments. It has the potential to create a clear front. The site is elongated, lying with the longer side along the most important feeder route from Beukenhorst. The idea of constructing a long, heavy plinth course with all the communal services, with two light pavilions above is a response to two major aspects in the design specifications:
- A unified presence - Two identities
Collecting all the meters at a single point creates a building envelope that is perspicuous. However, the two parties also wanted to be distinct. The pavilions on top of the plinth differ subtly. They vary in size, and in the case of Advin the atrium is behind the façade, while with DVDI it is internal. This generates a nuanced distinction in the façade's appearance.
Materials
The distinction between plinth and pavilions is enhanced by the use of material and detailing. The pavilions are light in colour and the detailing is extremely smooth. The façade windows take a continuous curve by varying the height of the windows in a random way. The compact size of the two blocks, the open corners and the continuous curving line turn it into a pavilion, although primarily as a result of the strong contrast with the plinth. This is made of coarse brick in anthracite with a subtle sparkle. It is in Waal brick format, laid in stack bond. The windows in the plinth are located along the long side, hidden behind a large overhang visible through an elongated opening in the brickwork surface.
DVDI Interior
The core of the building is formed by the atrium, which has been turned into an extremely effective communication zone through the location of the stairs. The low height of four levels means that the stairs are heavily used. The line running from the ground to the top floor is a continuous flowing line. On each floor, the stairs open onto a communal space for the relevant level/department. A table, seats, a copy room and a pantry are all to be found here. There is a different colour for each layer, and this has a highly refreshing effect within the basic colour scheme of white, red-brown, anthracite and wood.
On the ground floor with all the communal facilities, we have used the floor literally and figuratively as signposting. An orthogonal continuous pattern has been laid out, whereby each space is indicated in the floor by means of a specially developed pictogram. Extremely clear and effective: a white/grey poured floor with red lines, surfaces and pictograms.
The restaurant and kitchen are extremely expansively designed and multifunctional. An informal bar room located between the main hall and the restaurant may be seen as an extension of the restaurant and simultaneously of the main hall. Large sliding walls facilitate the separation of the functions. The Friday afternoon drinks session was a significant component of the programme and can take place in a pleasant enclosed space in this way.
