 Architects

ZZDP Architecten
 Name

TBWA Office Building

 Location

Generaal Vetterstraat 82, Amsterdam

 Category

Offices
 Architect in Charge

: Joris Deur, Adam Smit

 Interior Design

Abrahams Crielaers
 Construction

Van Rossum
 Area

8000.0 sqm
 Project Year

2010
Project Concept- A new street design for Generaal Vetterstraat, made necessary by construction
of the Uiverbrug (bridge), resulted in an irregularly shaped leftover plot in the Schinkel business
site. The plans required the plot to be filled in with buildings. Fortress offered to develop the
building for the office rental market. TBWA signed up for the tenancy in late 2008, after which
construction began. The design of TBWA refers to both their architectural language and the
industrial genus loci. Full height glazed screens, open plan floor plans and generous floor
heights make that the building is currently attractive to the creative industry. At the same time
these built in qualities are a guarantee that the building will be fit for use in the future.

Spatial Organization- The use of a sprinkler system made it possible to leave the large office
floors, measuring 1,800 m2, completely open plan. To give a more spacious feel to the deep-plan
floors and create a loft-like quality that would appeal to creative industries, a gross storey height
of 4m was realized. Application of a BubbleDeck floor system allowed the use of large spans
with relatively few columns and a slim floor slab without supporting beams. The facade bands
with cassettes of Corten steel give the building a distinctive image that refers to the industrial
past of the Schinkel site.

Materials of façade- Details of the facade were elaborated in collaboration with IBS to prevent
the characteristic surface rust of the Corten steel from staining the internal wall leaf. Balconies
fanning out from the facade on the canal side of the building provide solar shading and a
sheltered area for users taking an outside break. Heating and cooling of the building is assisted
by thermal storage. The façade is dominated by continuous horizontal lines made up of Corten
steel cassettes alternated with strip windows,which has an edge quality to it that seems to echo
the industrial history of the site. The horizontal façade structure refers to the masonry spandrels
of its neighbors.The windows have been detailed jointless and flush to optimize the contrast with
the rough Corten steel cassettes as you approach the building under an oblique angle. At the
water side the Corten cassettes form the balustrade of a balcony that fans out, creating a generous
outdoor space at the building’s southern tip. While providing ample outdoor space for the office
users, the balconies provide natural solar shading.

Functional distribution- The floor to floor height of 4 meters suits the aspirations of the current
tenant in the creative industry. The generous height also offers all possibilities for changes of use
in the future. In the heart of the building is formed by an atrium with wooden stairs. This offers
attractive cross views and enhances the interaction of the users of the different floors. Daylight
from the shed roof reaches down as far as the ground floor. Sunken somewhat into the ground
the parking provision is positioned central within the building.

Circulation- A special feature is the ‘parking cathedral’ with room for hundreds of cars. Its
semi-automatic parking system allows cars to be stacked in three layers, saving the expense and
time of excavating a basement. Through a window in the canteen one can follow the three level
parking process in progress. An atrium with staircases in the centre of the building provided
interaction between the floors.