Description
The client – a young expanding company – required a highly flexible and easily extendable building to accommodate unpredictable changes related to future activities and shifts in the research market for new medications. At the same time, the state-of-the-art building with a positive image was to provide an inspiring work environment supporting vivid interaction between scientists.
A feasibility study established that the common Dutch office grid of 5.4 x 1.8 x 5.4 m was not suitable. The alternative was a functional, asymmetrical building layout with two access corridors. The narrow eastern part of the building (width: 7.4 m) contains offices; the wider part (9.2 m) accommodates larger spaces as laboratories and conference rooms. Situated between the two parts, a generous foyer space with a vertical access core links both sides. This core also includes the mechanical core that serves both sides.
Due to the maximum building height of 10 m stipulated by the strategic master plan the building comprises three storeys. The main research areas and attached secondary spaces are located on the top floor, the large chemical laboratories and the offices on the first floor, and the spaces for visitors and management as well as archives and conference rooms on the ground floor.
The structure is based on a 3.6 m grid and consists of 2 m wide load-bearing steel frames. They receive the loads of the steel girders supporting the floor slabs. The overall structure is composed of two independent parts. A flat roof connects both wings and distributes the wind loads.
Down to the lift shaft, the building stands out for its transparency. The two perforated steel screens lining the façades above all set the stage for the building’s appearance: At night, light seeps through the façade so it looks veiled; during the day, it appears much larger than it actually is. The screens provide solar protection, security, and wind protection. Spaces with walkways behind the façade screens enable natural ventilation. In the event of fire they can also be used as escape routes, rendering other fire protection measures superfluous.
Drawings
Schematic sketch of building
Ground floor
Second floor
West elevation
East elevation
Photos
Perforated screens in front of the glazed main façades protect the research centre from wind and sun
The central glazed lift connecting the three storeys
Originally published in: Hardo Braun, Dieter Grömling, Research and Technology Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2005.