AkzoNobel Head Office
Amsterdam, NL
Group A
Sara Rojo
2007/2009

 

The design for the new AkzoNobel Head Office on the Amsterdam Zuidas is characterized by its dynamic and transparent shape. The layered glass facade has got different textures and transparencies to create a vision in motion from the adjacent road. The façade behaves as a dress of different layers designed according visuals and the program inside.
The space between the two skins allows natural passive ventilation.
The publicly accessible ground floor functions will act as an organic transition between the building and the square in front of it. 
Two intertwined atrium spaces could be regarded as the buildings’ spine. One atrium will stretch out across both the public ground floor, the semi-public area housing the Akzo Art Foundation on the first floor, and the second floor. This atrium space will be the epicenter for both Akzo staff and business partners, and is connected to the higher office floors by means of a second atrium.