Döll and Royal Haskoning worked together on the design of a 32,000 m2 office space in the complex ‘Le Carré’, which is situated next to a railway line. The overall design of the complex is a collaboration between Henk Döll and Syb van Breda of Royal Haskoning. The two architects both developed a part of the complex independently, while maintaining regular discussions and meetings regarding consistency.
In terms of layout Le Carré can be seen as a closed building block with three courtyards that are accessible for public use. The exhibition court, parking place and courtyard have their own character due to the use of different materials. Apart from the two blocks on the north side and a cantilevered part on the south western corner, the complex is 3 to 4 floors high. The building houses public and non public offices like KPN, UWV (including desk functions) and CWI/ Municipality Zwolle.
The architects have both designed about half of the complex each, whereby the façade was the main task. The use of materials does play a key role in the architectural development of the different signature façades. On the street side Döll choose to use bricks and horizontal strips of stone. Royal Haskoning applied three types of bricks on the outer facades. The facades of the courtyards use different materials. For example, Döll designed copper cladding for the parking area while Royal Haskoning choose to use steel grilles in the courtyard.
Whilst designing the facades little consideration was needed for the layout of the space behind the facades, as the volume was designed as a building with an open floor plan and a fixed grid. The main idea behind the idea to allow two architect firms to design this complex was to create an interesting interplay between the various façade designs.
