RAU Architects and Ex Interiors build a wooden ‘cathedral’
The fully reconstructible Triodos Bank office is taking world firsts
Amsterdam, 13 September 2019 – Friday 6 September, Triodos Bank’s new, fully sustainable and circular office was officially delivered to the bank. RAU Architects and Ex Interiors have been commissioned by Triodos Bank and developer EDGE to design a fully, reconstructabe, wooden “cathedral” that sets the tone in a circular and sustainable manner worldwide. The office is the first large-scale, 100% wood, reconstructible office building. This building also serves as the first temporary material bank, and the CO2 footprint is minimal.
In a monumental building at the heart of Maastricht, interior designer Robert Kolenik has created a high-end penthouse where the luxury is surprisingly often not visible. “It’s all about the details and the durability. A perfectly finished statuario marble fireplace, intuitive LED lighting that comes on at a dimmed level when you enter a space. And materials that will outlast you. For me, this is the new luxury.”
A penthouse of more than three hundred square metres. And then being given ‘carte blanche’ for the interior design. This was a dream commission for Robert Kolenik and his team, who with his Eco Chic Design style brings together cradle-to-cradle design with warmth and luxury. Robert Kolenik explains: “Of course it’s wonderful to be given carte blanche. It shows that people trust you, but it is also a big responsibility. In order to ensure that the clients ended up with the comfortable, luxurious space that they had in mind, I involved them in the process at key moments. For example, they picked out the marble themselves for the imposing fireplace in the living room at the supplier. The variety of shades and vein patterns on offer makes this a highly personal choice.”
Usabilla’s new office is a hidden gem in the heart of Amsterdam’s city center. Recently, different departments have moved into the space to stimulate collaboration. Besides improving interaction between teams, the office also needed to be ‘a fun place.’
The resulting design is an office with a high degree of transparency, offering diverse workplace settings. These range from various types of meeting rooms, phone booths to focus rooms.
The 30-metre-long black, graphic facade of House M&M immediately catches the eye as you walk along the perimeter of Funenpark in Amsterdam. House M&M is all about the transformation of an old shack in a unique private residence with studio at just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre. The residence is an excellent example of how to create a unique, striking design that is informed by the specific characteristics of the surroundings.
The façade’s sleek lines and gold fencing accentuate the house’s elongated form. The sturdy materials that make up the facade and the steel skeleton of the building allude to the premises’ former function. The open-plan residence is accessible via a patio behind the gold fencing. Its heart is formed by a wooden core that houses the facilities. The spaces around these are the living areas. Sightlines along the residence’s entire length create an open interior and a smooth transition from indoor to outdoor.
MVRDV has designed a small office and residential building on a corner lot next to the Dommel river in the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel, using a gridded “rack” system to cover the building’s entire exterior in a variety of plants. Located on the town’s southern edge, the four-storey Green Villa adopts the urban form of the neighbouring buildings, while the plant covering helps it blend into the bucolic landscape of the nearby river, fields and trees.
Containing a new office space for a real estate developer, Stein, on the ground floor, five apartments on three floors above, and underground parking, the Green Villa develops one end of a surface car park on the southern edge of Sint-Michielsgestel. The project was initiated and is being developed by MVRDV’s co-architect, Van Boven Architecten, who wanted to create a landmark project for the village while also being socially conscious and environmentally progressive.
UNStudio partners with Hardt Hyperloop and presents its vision for the Station of the Future.
The UNStudio Futures Team (UNSFutures) yesterday presented its vision for the ‘Station of the Future’ at the first edition of HyperSummit, which took place in Utrecht, the Netherlands and was organised by Hardt Hyperloop. The first edition of the HyperSummit was focused on urgency, research and collaboration, with numerous partners speaking about their contribution to the possibilities for realising the European hyperloop.
Special attention was also devoted to the kick-off study of the Hyperloop Implementation Programme (HIP), a study which looks at implementation questions relating to the Amsterdam-Frankfurt project.
The Erasmus Bridge is the product of an integrated design approach. Construction, urbanism, infrastructure and public functions are given shape in one comprehensive gesture, but one that is complex to read, nevertheless. During preliminary and definitive design phases, the design was continuously refined, although its main outlines and features were constant. The five differently shaped, concrete piers, the railings, the landings, the details of fixtures and joints, and the maintenance equipment were all integrally designed.
UN Studio: Ben van Berkel with Freek Loos, Hans Cromjongh and Ger Gijzen, Willemijn Lofvers, Sibo de Man, Gerard Nijenhuis, Manon Patinama, John Rebel, Ernst van Rijn, Hugo Schuurman, Caspar Smeets, Paul Toornend, Jan Willem Walraad, Dick Wetzels, Karel Vollers.
The new €37.5m (£27.6m) Transfer Terminal at Arnhem Central Station in the Netherlands has now completed.
The station is the result of an ambitious 20-year project – masterplanned by UNStudio – to redevelop the wider station area; the largest post-war development in Arnhem. Backed by the Dutch government, this transfer hub rewrites the rulebook on train stations and is the most complex of its type in Europe. The station will become the new ‘front door’ of the city, embracing the spirit of travel, and is expected to establish Arnhem as an important node between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The new terminal houses commercial areas, and a conference centre and provides links to the nearby office plaza, city centre, underground parking garage and the Park Sonsbeek. The area around the station will become a place in of itself, with 160,000m2 of offices, shops and a cinema complex.
The world leading food company Danone has officially opened the doors of its new office in Hoofddorp. Designed and built for Danone in a strategic location of Amsterdam metropolitan area, the office will serve as the new headquarters for Early Life Nutrition and Advanced Medical Nutrition. Two of the company’s leading businesses and the global procurement function of Danone: Cycles & Procurement. In 2017 Powerhouse Company won the competition for the 8.400 m2 office building in collaboration with developers from RED Company. Nanne de Ru, founder and leader of both organizations, led his teams to deliver a building that strongly reflects Danone's vision, “One Planet. One Health”. With its focus on sustainability and health, the new building gives shape to the belief that the health of the planet and people are interconnected.
Project Team: Paul Sanders, Koen van den Dungen, Sandra Pyłczewska, Mitchel Veloo, Michiel Bosch, Viktor Kekesi, Erwin van Strien, Gert Ververs, Maarten Diederix, Bjørn Andreassen
The KPN building at the beginning of Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam was designed by Renzo Piano. It was the talk of the town upon completion in 1999, but by 2016 it had ceased to meet the user’s needs. With Piano’s consent, an extensive redevelopment by V8 was planned to breathe new life into the building. At ground level there is a huge entrance with public functions and business facilities; the tower has been converted from a traditional office building into a flexible and up-to-the-minute workplace. In its new incarnation the building has reconnected with the neighborhood and the city and is set to act as a catalyst of public life on the pier.
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