Connecting people, building and organisation

In order to provide a safe and service-oriented entrance which is easy to navigate, the galleria, which originally had an outdoor climate, was converted into a fully climatized reception area. It is at the intersection of user groups, building architecture, exterior and interior. The intervention is designed to interconnect all of these in a rational and natural way.

A key driver for the design of the public space was to carefully facilitate the various traffic flows. By adding a mezzanine, user groups are efficiently separated and easily find their allocated entrances, meeting spaces and waiting rooms. On the top the mezzanine features a security barrier. Underneath, a waiting area for the reception desks is situated. Materialisation of the new volumes in natural stone, contributes to the self-evident nature of the intervention.

The sturdy design with a robust appearance and long sightlines is in line with the original building architecture. It contributes to a strongly anchored position of the institute in the rough urban area, adding a public living room that represents justice. Despite the partial transformation of the galleria into a warm and welcoming public living room, it is still perceived as one continuous whole, stretching from the harbour at both ends to the exit of the metro station with its small shops in between.

In line with the design of the galleria, the offices obtained a clear design with long sightlines, efficient layout and sturdy materialisation. The central meeting hub on the ground floor and the meeting spaces on the office floors are each largely materialised in natural wood, with a touch of blue on a pallet of white and grey tones.

To emphasize transparency and instigate informal meetings, a circular space was designed situated in a modest newly constructed building extension. It interconnects two building wings at ground floor level and provides the knowledge centre and training spaces with an informal multi-use space.