Rabobank financial advice centre
Woudenberg, The Netherlands
Principal: Rabobank Woudenberg e.o.
Design by: Maarten Laout, Van den Berg Architecten Houten, The Netherlands (c)
Photografy: Henk Leijen
This commercial office building combines a sturdy, solid appearence with a contrasting transparent interior.
This commercial office building combines a sturdy, solid appearence with a contrasting transparent interior.
The plan of the building is completely based on the concept of Flexible Workplace Strategies. Employees do not 'own' private personalised working desks but choose flex-desks upon availability, carrying personal items in a personal flex-case. Coherent working units and departments have floating boundaries rather than fixed walls. The open floorplans are interconnected by informal stairways, enabling greater flexibility in 3D-Tetris-style. The concept reduces m2:fte-ratio and enhances the spatial experience of the working environment.
Amongst others, a geothermal heating- and coolingsystem, daylight compensated lighting, heat-retreiving ventilation and the use of a range of cradle-to-cradle building materials add to this office's sustainability and GreenCalc score. The construction of a rainwater storage-lake as part of the dutch polder water control system is actually utilized to give the office its picturesc lakeside location.
The facade is made of dutch brick and precast concrete, enriched with carefully selected Taunus quartzes. The surface is subsequently polished, giving it an almost granite-like appearance.
