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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. New headquarters for the Dutch police in The Hague, Netherlands by Ector Hoogstad ArchitectenDecember 5th, 2015 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Ector Hoogstad Architecten Ector Hoogstad Architects has transformed De Artillerie, an office complex on the Nieuwe Uitleg in The Hague built in a historicising style in the 1990s, into the new police headquarters. “De Artillerie is a relatively new building, many features of which are still usable,” said Joost Ector, director of the Rotterdam-based architectural practice. “It has an interesting structure with a spatial quality that was completely neglected in the original design. Thanks to a number of substantial interventions it has been transformed into a pleasantly spacious, light and airy building with just the right atmosphere for a police headquarters.”  Main entrance Nieuwe Uitleg, The Hague, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof
 Meeting centre, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof The previous 25 police forces in the Netherlands were merged into a single organisation with ten regional units under one single Chief of Police on 1 January 2013. This new organisation needed accommodation that was as flexible as possible, to give it room to develop. The core of the building containing specialised functions such as the press room, National Briefing Room, meeting and conference rooms and foyers is surrounded by peripheral office space with team offices, individual offices and six hundred hot-desking worksites. Glass interior walls provide openness and daylight throughout the depth of the building, while a subtle print on the glass ensures privacy. The high degree of transparency mean that people can find and meet one another easily.  Team offices located along the atrium, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof  Atrium with a view on the congress room and meeting centre, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof At the beginning of the renovation process, the design team made a careful strategic assessment of which elements of De Artillerie could appropriately be reused, both from an economic perspective and with regard to sustainability and aesthetics. The elements that were retained included toilet blocks, kitchens, certain parts of technical installations and cable ducts. “Waste could be reduced to a minimum by not simply stripping the building but investigating in detail which elements had residual value that could be integrated into the design. This helped us to comply very effectively with the client’s ambitious sustainability and budgetary requirements,” Joost Ector went on.  Atrium with four story plant wall, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof  Open office space, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof The police attach a great deal of importance to future-proofing the building. This meant that close attention had to be paid to flexibility and adaptability. The careful combination of hot-desking worksites, individual offices and meeting spaces means that departments can grow or shrink easily. We also gave a lot of attention to sustainability. Improving the effectiveness of the partially reused installations (for example by introducing new control systems) has made the building much more energy-efficient. The materials used were also selected on the basis of minimal environmental impact, while the atrium has been provided with a four-story plant wall for a pleasant and healthy interior environment.  Development plaza, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof The choice of materials and colours is balanced and timeless. “The colour scheme used throughout the building is almost entirely based on the traditional Dutch police colours, blue and gold. This keeps the interior recognisable, but allows for variation,” explained Joost Ector. The interior concept is based on a tripartite division as regards the use of colours and materials. Firstly, there are the office areas in light to middle grey augmented with shades of blue. Spaces used for public functions feature wooden or metal accents. Finally, the palette for the specialised spaces was made somewhat heavier by the use of bronze and stone tints in combination with glass and steel.  Open office space, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof The integrated design process – from structural interventions up to and including the installation of moveable furniture – was completed in an unusually short time thanks to clear choices and well-defined assumptions. Ector Hoogstad Architects was responsible for overall engineering for both architecture and interior work at the request of the client. The design team was complemented by the subcontractors Deerns (technical installations), IMd Consulting Engineers (structural work) and IGG (construction costs). The project was put out to tender on the basis of a detailed preliminary design; this approach saved time and helped to integrate implementation expertise into the design. The design process started in the autumn of 2013. The project was put out to tender the same year, and was completed in early 2015.  Atrium with view on the pressroom, Image Courtesy © Petra Appelhof About Ector Hoogstad Architecten: “Our ambition is to make complete and distinctive architecture which enriches people’s lives. We believe more in the gradual and intelligent development of our architectonic concepts and technical expertise than in revolutionary ideas. We explore limitations and transcend them from within. On every project, we systematically work with our partners and clients towards architecture that sets the tone – we won’t settle for anything less.”
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Tags: Netherlands, The Hague Category: Headquarters |
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