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Entwurf • Design OMA, NL-Rotterdam
Bauherr • Client Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, NL-Den Haag
Standort • Location Rinjnstraat 8, NL-Den Haag
Nutzfläche • Floor space 100.000 m 2
Foto: Frans Strous
Fotos • Photos Marco Cappelletti / Nick Guttrige
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More infos on page 146
MINISTRY
IN THE HAGUE
The Dutch government is currently restructuring the work-
places of its employees. In the course of this effort, the
architects at OMA have dissolved the outdated structure of
a 1990s ministry building and have, using a lot of glass, a
new circulation layout and flexible office structures, provi-
ded the right environment for contemporary work with a
democratically transparent outside appearance.
A s digitalisation progresses, the demands on office workstations
have been changing for years. In the Netherlands, the government
is responding to this with a major reorganisation of its ministries
towards greater flexibility, efficiency and openness. The former Ministry
of Construction and Environment is the first step in this process.
Located directly next to the main railway station of The Hague, it was
Grundriss 4. Obergeschoss • 4th floor plan built in 1992 by architect Jan Hoogstad as an innovative office building
with spacious atria. After winning the competition, Ellen van Loon,
partner in the architectural practice OMA, has transferred the existing
architectural characteristics to the present day. In the south, the mas-
sive 16-storey concrete block was opened up towards the city with a
glass facade. The existing pedestrian passageway in the middle of the
140-metre long building was widened and now forms a public square.
The passageway provides a connection between the station and other
ministries and simultaneously marks the two entrances to the building,
the lobbies of which are publicly accessible. The restaurant on the first
floor provides a convivial meeting place. The four levels above accom-
modate meeting and conference rooms of varying size and quality,
which are used by all the ministries located in The Hague. Among them
Grundriss 8. Obergeschoss • 8th floor plan is the large conference room, shielded for security reasons, whose win-
dowless black walls are adorned by the silhouette of ships. Light is pro-
vided by LEDs via an abstract globe, which is installed centrally on the
ceiling and floor. From the sixth floor upwards, the Ministry of
Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the Central Reception Office for asylum seekers and the Naturalisation
Office have moved in with a total of 6,000 employees. Stairways in the
atriums connect the levels. An adjoining corridor runs along the entire
length of the floor plan and serves as a fixed point for orientation in
the open structure. There is nothing left of individual office cells and
narrow corridors. Instead, work is carried out in a completely flexible
system comprising 3,100 desks and 2,200 additional seating options in
lounge zones and at meeting islands whose shared use is not only effi-
Längsschnitt • Longitudinal section cient, but also provides for variety and interaction.
AIT 12.2017 • 111
