The former Telegraph Building is located on the street once known as Amsterdam's Fleetstreet. The proud 1930s newspaper building is a reminder of those days. But inside, the printing presses have disappeared; making way for modern offices, public-commercial functions and housing. Rijnboutt brought back the original qualities of the press hall, the spaciousness and the contact with the street and added a number of modern eye-catchers. The national monument on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal has also been reconnected with the monumental storefront on the Kalverstraat.
The distinctive and sturdy building designed at the time by architects Jan Frederik Staal and G.J. Langhout is characterized by an impressive double-height hall on the first floor where the huge printing presses once stood. The remaining four floors housed the typesetting department and offices for the editors, administration and management, and the roof floor housed the canteen.
After the departure of tenant Kasbank, Rijnboutt started the redevelopment of the recently completed project. Commissioned by Kroonenberg Group, owner of both properties since 2016, more than 7,000 m2 of office space has been realized in the former Telegraaf building where Guerrilla Games has taken up residence. An indoor two-story parking garage, some four homes above the retail building on Kalverstraat and a large first floor retail space in the former press hall, are also part of the redevelopment.
Walking through history
Rijnboutt has managed to connect the former Telegraaf building on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal with the store at 28 Kalverstraat, just as the two plots were originally connected in the 1930s. This creates a route through the historic building block whereby it is possible to walk from the entrance of the store on Kalverstraat - a municipal monument dating from 1890 - through the winter garden between the two buildings through the former printing presses hall to the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. This has created more dynamism and liveliness.
Original glory
Rijnboutt has reopened the national monument that was closed off from the surroundings and brought back the internal qualities that had been lost by focusing on the most attractive spaces. This revitalizes the original qualities of the former press hall, a prominent part of the building. "The first floor was not suitable for the establishment of a retailer. Daylight was limited and visibility from the street and interaction with the public minimal," says architect partner Frederik Vermeesch. "We therefore removed the extra floor that Kasbank had added to the press hall to create more office space, bringing it back to its original glory.
The retail space now covers a total of 2,700 m2 and is no less than eight meters high. Daylight once again falls in amply through the windows." In addition to an entrance on Kalverstraat, the store now has an entrance on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, where the Telegraaf's shipping department used to be located and where the newsboys stood waiting for the first newspapers to roll off the presses.
Another important intervention was that all the installation technology was hidden away in the courtyard on the second floor and on the roof floor where the canteen was located. "This made the company restaurant small, and more importantly, you missed the fantastic view of the city," says Vermeesch. All the installation technology was moved to the basement where it was concealed in the edges of the parking garage with bicycle storage. This made it possible to free up two eye-catchers: the courtyard is now an atrium with a glass roof with transparent trusses that offers a view of the rear facade and opens up the office spaces to each other. This is where Guerrilla Games' lobby is located with the reception, theater and cinema. The canteen on the roof floor could thus be expanded in area and is equipped with glass end walls, a zinc roof, and higher frames with large windows that offer panoramic views of the city.
Rotating glass elevator of the original architecture, almost only the column structure and the monumental staircase were original. To give the building the atmosphere of yesteryear combined with a modern look, the facade masonry and the staircase were restored and the color and material palette with bronze, deep brown natural stone and black steel was restored and translated in a subtle way.
A contrasting addition is the unique eye-catcher in the central hall. The ultramodern glass round elevator around which a spiral staircase is attached, turns 180 degrees so that visitors on the second floor get off at the atrium with glass roof and view of the rear facade. This gives the robust monumental building a contemporary allure and makes it once again the beating heart of Amsterdam's city center.
Consultants: Rijnboutt
