moriko kira architect has transformed the interior of Aldo van Eyck’s Tripolis building in Amsterdam-South into an open-plan office that encourages interchange and innovation. Built in 1991, Tripolis is set to become the European headquarters of the Japanese electronics company Nikon.
Aldo van Eyck’s strong architectural concept and Nikon’s brand image together formed the starting point for moriko kira architect’s design. ‘Both are intense and authentic. We have tried to fit this exceptional company as naturally as possible into an idiosyncratic building,’ states Moriko Kira. Nikon has caused a sensation in recent years with the introduction of several innovations in camera technology, such as the mirrorless camera and a camera smaller than a credit card. The advertising campaign I am Nikon, which demonstrated that everyone can achieve professional quality, helped to make Nikon a market leader in compact cameras. ‘The dynamism of the product development and marketing, and the company spirit, with its mix of nationalities, age groups and disciplines, made a deep impression on us. We wanted to express this transparency, dynamism and sense of well-being in our design.’
Talking to Aldo van Eyck
moriko kira architect provided the design with a motto: talking to Aldo van Eyck. ‘It was impossible to fully grasp the strength of this office building, one of the last office buildings Aldo van Eyck designed, until one was confronted with the building as a designer.’
The architect explains her motto thus: ‘During the design process it was as if we were carrying on an intimate conversation with Aldo van Eyck’. The radical office building consists of three flower-like octant spaces linked by a geometrically distinctive central space containing the common services such as lifts, escape stairs and toilets. Each octant has its own central staircase linking the space with other floors.
Open and intimate at the same time
Owing to the maximized surface of the external facade and also to the geometry, it was not an efficient office building. Multiple staircases in the centre of the office space, the voids and the circulation areas took up a lot of space. Moriko Kira: ‘The original tenant had divided all the octants into tiny offices, which made orientation impossible. But once these cubicles had been demolished Aldo van Eyck’s concept was immediately clear. Thanks to the octants the space was open, and at the same time every corner has its own sense of intimacy. Several connections between the octants and the floors are provided by the (superfluous) stairs in the middle of the octants. And because of the extreme length of the glass facade, the whole space was flooded with light and we felt as if we were part of the city, the woods and the changeable weather. I could almost hear Aldo van Eyck saying that people will communicate, collaborate and exchange ideas, that people continue to feel that they are part of society and that although the space is open, it always feels like one’s own place’.
The architect continues: ‘This is precisely what Nikon wants. To communicate, collaborate and exchange ideas. We concentrated on making the space as transparent and light as possible. The basic materials for achieving this effect were the sprayed panels of glass and steel. Instead of some mass-produced material or synthetic, we proposed using only authentic materials of the same high quality as that exuded by Nikon’s products.’
It was the first time that the architectural practice had designed an interior for an office building that has a concept for the environment of the people who work there. Moriko Kira: ‘I was particularly struck by the fact that this building was designed to be open and communicative at a time when office design was dominated by the cubbyhole mentality. We were wholly inspired by Aldo van Eyck’s concept.’
Not square and not symmetrical
During the design process it was difficult to ‘get away from’ Aldo van Eyck. Nothing in this building is square, and despite first impressions nothing is symmetrical. The depth of the plan of each floor turned out to be ten centimetres greater than the floor below. It would be very difficult to integrate standard products here. Moriko Kira: ‘In the end we bowed to Aldo van Eyck’s logic and developed our design from there. The incredible quality of the light of the space and Nikon’s affinity with light and colour as an optical and camera company we expressed in the colour scheme of the sprayed walls. As basis, we chose two colours – light grey and yellow – and for each wing we introduced a light accent colour of green, purple or blue.’
The architecture of Aldo van Eyck is dominated by the composition of vertical elements that fill the column structure. The architect continues: ‘This gives the space a lighter feeling than in buildings with concrete or brick walls. The strips of coloured panels of various widths intensify the lightness and the dynamism.’
‘The building’s unique geometry in combination with the transparency and the colours produces a fluid and light environment where the surrounding city and the greenery become part of the spatial perception. Simultaneously, precisely because of these same ingredients, the workstations remain intimate. In this way we honour Aldo van Eyck’s concept, which forms the basis for our interior. The world of Nikon’s working space develops seamlessly from this.’ It also perfectly matched the philosophy of the design of our office.
We believe in the space where one feels like wearing a comfortable jacket. Space where you are not too much conscious of what is built but you feel good with light, space and the season. It is not about what we design, but it is about in between what we design, in between the walls and windows.
