Featuring Cantilevered Canopies and Full-glass Facades
Denkkamer architectuur & onderzoek
The new headquarters of Dutch building and real estate group Van Dijk Groep is a three-story trapezoid-plan volume located at a roundabout near the village of Gemert. The design by local architects Denkkamer is driven by the requirements of the group’s diverse companies. VDG De La Roy, which specialises in products made from insulation material, is located at the ground floor adjacent to the production facility in the adjoining building to the headquarters. The middle level is the largest and gives contractor VDG Unibouw extra space in order to be able to operate from one single floor. The top floor is the smallest of the three, which functions as a kind of penthouse for VDG Real estate, Solar and management.
The main entrance is located on the north side in the middle of the longitudinal façade and aims to strengthen the collective feeling of VDG, because everyone enters through it. The lobby and canteen behind it are designed to meet informally and share knowledge. A two-story void in the heart of the building establishes a relationship between the entrance area and floors above. The supporting functions, such as kitchen, toilets and wardrobes, have been positioned against the hall with the stairs in front of it, forming a central connecting axis. The work and meeting places have been pushed towards the glass facade, so that they take maximum advantage of the light and the view.
The cantilevered canopies protect the full-glass facades from solar radiation. At the same time, the awnings enhance the panoramic view from the office spaces over the provincial road and towards the forest area on the north side of the building. The top and bottom of the awnings are finished in artificial grass and thermally enhanced Ash wood to create a connection with the green context. The front edges of the awnings are of an anodized aluminum composite that continues in the façade of the production hall, which is pushed inward as a recessed line in the facade with exactly the same height as the awnings. As a result, the office and hall melt together and form a whole instead of being two separated buildings.
Project: Van Dijk Groep Headquarters / Location: Gemert, Netherlands / Architect: Denkkamer architectuur & onderzoek / Project team: Dennis van de Rijdt, Peter Verschuren, Leonique Winnen / Interior architect: STRK / Structural engineer: Bouw-adviesbureau Van der Zanden / Net surface: 935m² / Gross area: 1101m² / Gross content: 4073m² / Construction: 2016~2019 / Completion: 2019 / Photograph: René de Wit
