The energy-neutral building designed especially for Unilever, contains office spaces, laboratories, experience kitchens and a mini-factory in which new products are tested and developed on a small scale.
Fokkema & Partners Architecten is responsible for the complete interior design. Unilever wanted a building that is ‘open by default and therefore a large part of the building is publicly accessible. Here you will find a welcoming tea bar, a large demo kitchen, an open auditorium and a restaurant, all open for visitors, students and researchers who want to be part of the Foods ecosystem.
The building won two BREEAM Awards in 2019 and received the highest certification: BREEAM-NL Outstanding. Fokkema & Partners then took the ambition to realise a circular interior to a new level. 95% of the building is furnished with reused furniture, equipment and interior elements from former Unilever R&D sites in Vlaardingen, Poland and Germany.
Unilever Foods Innovation Centre partners: Paul de Ruiter Architects, Dura Vermeer, DWA, Lucassen bouwconstructies, Hollander Techniek, Arcadis, Dr. Heinekamp, Sandenburg, MAT25, D&S Process Solutions, DGMR.
Photography: Ossip van Duivenbode
To check out a clip from the opening event, click here.