• location: Arnhem
• program: 7000 m2 office
• design: 2017-2018
• design team: Juliette Bekkering, Monica Adams, Frank de Vleeschhouwer, Claudio Zampaglione

The site for the head office is located on a central area, straight behind the central station of the city of Arnhem.  Due to the elevated position of the terrain the location offers a view over the city. The location is surrounded by an urban structure of different scales: varying from the small scale, of the three layer row-houses from the beginning of the twentieths century on the north side, to the large scale of the central station with the recent high-rise developments of the last decades on the south side.

The distinct shape of the plot and the strict height regulations challenged us to develop a compact sculptural building, with height accents that anchor the building into the urban context. The volume follows the surrounding urban texture with a long continuous volume adjacent to the station and a more fragmented volume along the row-house urban pattern. The ambitious program of the client, who required large office fields for a diversity of departments within their organisation, challenged us to develop the ground plans with a spectrum of diverse spaces, each with their specific quality, architectural features and around lush inner gardens. The request to have a heart of the building where employees could meet, chat, work and relax together was translated into a large central space, with meandering stairs, that spiral up to the highest floor.

The building is crowned with a top floor where the bar, restaurant and large meeting rooms are organised. A large roof terrace adjacent to the restaurant is the perfect spot for office parties and sun flooded lunches. Greenhouses and patio’s ensure that daylight is flooding into the office spaces and greenery is always close by.

The height differences in the site were used to incorporate within the volume a parking garage: hidden from the view.

The corners of the triangular site are marked with volumetric accents, giving identity to the departments of the organisation and creating different roofscapes and interiors: high versus low, with inclined roofs or mezzanines.  This offers the organisation the possibility to use their offices in many different ways.  

The volume consists of three parts, following the traditional organisational scheme of the “tri-partite” with a solid natural stone plinth, a glazed middle part, connecting the building to the public space and a patterned brickwork volume hovering over the site.

Large windows offer a panorama view over the city.