The ICT company Sigmax asked us to design an office to accommodate the merger of two departments within the organisation, with room for further expansion. The office was to be situated in the Business & Science Park in Enschede, opposite the FC Twente stadium and the railway station. We came up with a design for a compact and streamlined architectural structure with an uninterrupted glass façade that lets in an abundance of natural light, which literally improves the quality of life of the building’s occupants.
We designed the building in the form of a compact, stacked pavilion with a horizontal line pattern, made entirely of glass and finished with rounded corners. Slim, floating office floors extend outdoors beyond the glass walls, where they become moss-sedum-lined green roofs. Thus the visual boundary between indoors and outdoors is minimised. Workers on every floor have direct visual contact with the green environment around the building.
At the entrance the first thing that catches your eye is a sculptural staircase of white steel, an eye-catching design piece. The bright and open entrance also functions as office restaurant, presentation hall and meeting area.
The interior design by Ex Interiors sustains the open character of the building in order to emphasise its spaciousness and transparency to the optimal degree. Bright colours and low, compact furniture ensure the view remains uninterrupted. Ex Interiors also designed sound-absorbing wall coverings specifically for this project. The strips of coloured felt are made by compressing and felting recycled textiles from the automotive industry and old carpets.
We angled the building on the parcel to ensure that it is optimally oriented in relation to the sun. We devised a customised climate concept for each of the four façades, with climate control managed directly via the façade. The cantilevers created by the extended office floors differ in depth on each side to serve different purposes. The cantilever on the south side, for example, is over a metre deep so it can function as a canopy. We covered the underside of the cantilevers with stainless steel panels to allow indirect sunlight to reach deeper into the building.
| Location | Business & Science Park, Enschede |
| Gross floor area | 2.500 m² |
| Volume | 6.750 m³ |
| Program | Office with restaurant and vegetation roof |
| Start design | April 2009 |
| Start construction | June 2010 |
| Completion | November 2011 |
| Opening | February 2012 |
| Client | Sigmax |
| Project architect | Paul de Ruiter |
| Project team | Haik Hanemaaijer, Willem Jan Landman, Niels Groeneveld |
| Adv․ construction | Lucassen Bouwconstructies, Hengelo |
| Adv․ installations | Deerns, Rijswijk |
| Contractor | Van Dijk Bouw |
| Bouwmanagement | Kloos2, Ambt Delden |
| Interior architect | Ex Interiors, Nieuwegein |
| Landscape architect | OKRA landschapsarchitecten, Utrecht |
| Photography | Pieter Kers |
