Program: Office
Client: Workrate
Floor Area: 950m2
Status: Completed in 2019
Location: Schiphol, The Netherlands

Much like the companies that inhabit them, office interiors must balance flexibility and permanence. All too often, these principles sit uncomfortably at odds with each other. For a company that specialises in security, we chose to merge these two qualities into a single system that absorbs the entire space.

Enter the Space Grid. Visually, this three dimensional column-and-beam structure knits the two office floors together. It sets the rules for the space, but at the same time allows for a lot of freedom within. The grid defines the space and at once acts as a carrier for all the project's utility infrastructure. Light switches, waterworks and temperature control units all find their way through this maze. To hush its visual dominance, the grid is rendered in white, in contrast with the otherwise powerful colours of the palette of the project, found in details like chairs, plants and window frames.

Should the nature or ambitions of the company change, the grid offers flexibility. Walls can easily be dismantled and rebuilt on another point in the grid. Air ducts may disappear into the ceiling, only to emerge again in their new positions. This way the design becomes durable in the truest sense. And so, this office mirrors all the properties that define a good company.

Project team: Remi Versteeg, Stijn de Weerd, Arnoud Stavenuiter, Menno Brouwer, Matilde Scali
Contractor: Verwol, Opmeer
Plants: Het Groenlab, Amsterdam
Office furniture: Boring Collection +
Contract furniture: Lensvelt Contract, Breda
Consultant fire safety: DGMR
Structural engineer: De Ingenieursgroep, Amsterdam Photography: Lorenzo Zandri