Type
Blauwhoed Headquarters
Location
Rotterdam
Client
Blauwhoed Vastgoed bv, Rotterdam
Year
1999
Status
Completed
Program
Offices
Blauwhoed Headquarters
This office building is one of four that Dam & Partners Architecten has designed here. It stands in the North Brainpark office park in Rotterdam, for which a masterplan has already been formulated. This masterplan establishes guidelines for the placement and the size of the buildings, the application and the colour of the masonry and the tripartite vertical division of the buildings. The transparent facade of the middle section of the office buildings has vertical, brick stiles. This alters the visual effect depending on the viewing angle. From directly in front of the building the face looks open.; from a more oblique standpoint it makes a closed impression.
The L-shaped building is opened up by two sculptural staircases and a wide, central corridor zone with empty space and columns on either side extending over several storeys. Only the floor of the third storey is completely closed for fire safety reasons. Above the third storey the voids form a single large space. The spatial complexity of the empty spaces is greatest in the lowest part of the building. Although almost all the work places are subdivided into individual rooms, there is still a sense of horizontal spaciousness due to the use of glazed corridor walls. Thanks to a sophisticated design of services, on the basis of natural ventilation, it was not necessary to use lowered ceilings in the office spaces. This means that nearly all the spaces can be illuminated with indirect light via the high ceilings.
The L-shaped building is opened up by two sculptural staircases and a wide, central corridor zone with empty space and columns on either side extending over several storeys. Only the floor of the third storey is completely closed for fire safety reasons. Above the third storey the voids form a single large space. The spatial complexity of the empty spaces is greatest in the lowest part of the building. Although almost all the work places are subdivided into individual rooms, there is still a sense of horizontal spaciousness due to the use of glazed corridor walls. Thanks to a sophisticated design of services, on the basis of natural ventilation, it was not necessary to use lowered ceilings in the office spaces. This means that nearly all the spaces can be illuminated with indirect light via the high ceilings.