Krinkels

By integrating the landscape into the building, we have created a working environment whose interior and surroundings blend seamlessly into one another. The green, park-like, 20,000m2site offered the perfect canvas for this. Working in collaboration with Buro Lubbers, the landscape design and urban development studio, we produced a modern office that is served by the surrounding landscape, thus revealing the building’s qualities to the greatest possible extent and making the Group’s green credentials tangible. The source of the building’s impact lies in the simplicity of its design, its transparent glass facade and its lush green roofs.

The building comprises two levels. You enter on the ground floor via a large circular atrium, whose glass roof makes for a light-filled interior. This atrium is the heart of the building, its status indicated by a massive Ficus Amstel King tree at its centre, the tree’s robustness symbolising the Krinkels Group’s growth.

Three ground-floor wings extend from the atrium, and provide working space for 80 employees. The direct connection between these wings and the atrium encourages greater interaction between employees from different departments. Two sculptural, semi-circular steel staircases wind their way up on opposite sides of the atrium and connect the two floors.

The ring-shaped first floor houses the meeting rooms. The ring’s perimeter wall consists of hot bent glass panels, giving the occupants of each room a panoramic view of the meticulously landscaped lawns. The three ground floor wings each have a different type of green roof, while the roof of the ring-shaped first floor is covered with 150m2 of solar panels.

A seasonal thermal energy storage unit is buried deep underground. The stored winter air provides cooling in the summer, and the stored summer heat is pumped back into the building in winter. This energy-efficient, fossil-free temperature regulation system ensures a pleasant and comfortable indoor climate whatever the season.

Thanks to its integrated design, all installations — such as the heat pumps for the thermal energy storage unit, the air-conditioning system and the electrical control panels — are hidden from view, tucked away as they are in the basement. The basement also provides room for the Krinkels Group’s archive.

Thoughtfully placed outdoor furniture creates open-air meeting and lunch spots amid the greenery. Plant life extends indoors, too. For example, the atrium-facing walls of the three ground floor wings are covered in lush vegetation, echoing the abundance of nature beyond the building.