An extremely modern office building, with respect for the national monumental elements. It seems a contradiction, but at Raadhuisstraat 46-50 in Amsterdam, architectural firm Office Winhov proves that it can be done! The old facades, window frames, tiles and stairwells here form a special but logical contrast with the modern interior finish, technical installations, bright office workplaces and sleek and modern lighting fixtures by Intra Lighting.
The building at 46-50 Raadhuisstraat was built in 1906/1907 to a rationalist design by architects A.J. Kropholler and J.F. Staal Jr. The left part of the building (nos. 48-50) provided space for 't Binnenhuis, a store in interior decoration and furniture, with warehouse, workshop and packing rooms on the upper floors. The right part (No. 46) consisted of office spaces and a staff residence. Office Winhov's design changed this, providing a unified and pleasant scale to the building.
Office Winhov was approached in the summer of 2021 by client Kroonenberg Group, with its expertise in transforming listed buildings, to create a design for the office floors.
"The listed building was in need of an upgrade, both in terms of sustainability and layout," says Caroline Versteden, architect at Office Winhov. "An important desire here was to realize very modern and high-quality office spaces. This proved to be a major challenge, because, for example, the monumental stairwells and facades had to be respected. Fortunately, this is where our expertise lies. At the outset, a thorough building analysis was conducted to gain insight into the core values that we wanted and could retain. We also immediately sought coordination with Monuments and Archaeology (MenA) of the municipality in order to explore all opportunities in consultation."
From the very beginning, we worked very closely with client Kroonenberg Groep, consultants such as Intra Lighting and contractor Salverda Bouw, says Uri Gilad, architect and partner at Office Winhov. "This provided us with a lot of input and together we were able to arrive at the most integral solution."
Work began in early 2023. Whereas a preserving and restorative approach was taken for the exterior, the interior of the office floors was completely modernized. In the process, all valuable monumental details were preserved and restored, Gilad says. "The design had not only architectural and design challenges, but also many technical challenges. The lighting played an important role here and was incorporated in such a way as to preserve the monumental appearance."
Kroonenberg Group gave Office Winhov a number of wishes, for both architecture and technology. Office Winhov started working with these client wishes and sought cooperation with Intra Lighting. Because Intra Lighting had worked for Kroonenberg Group before, including a project on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, client wishes, lighting knowledge and architecture came together nicely. "In that project, the right solutions were sought with all ideas on the table," Versteden says. "A pleasant approach, which we were happy to follow up on the Raadhuisstraat."
"Whereas line lighting was chosen on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, spotlights were the preferred choice on the Raadhuisstraat," says Niels Sprangers, Light Designer at Intra Lighting. "Here a separation had to be visible between the entrances, corridor zones and stairwells on the one hand and the office zones on the other." Gilad: "Whereas the entrances, corridor zones and stairwells are equipped with modern and decorative pendant and wall fixtures combined with spotlights, the offices, on the other hand, are equipped with modern and minimalist office lighting in various capacities. A conscious choice, because we do not believe in historicizing. What is contemporary should also look contemporary."
"In the preparatory phase, we looked very intensively and carefully at which fixtures would fit in which places, at which heights and in which light colors," Sprangers says. "We made light calculations to guarantee sufficient light at all workplaces and samples of all fixtures were delivered so that the overall picture could be seen."
For the workstations, Intra Lighting applied Bento luminaires with lens technology, while Multidir spotlights with reflector technology were chosen for the corridor areas. In the entrance area, REKTA wall-mounted luminaires (30x30mm) were used, and a mix of Dew and Lysabel pendant luminaires were mounted in the stairwells. "Biggest challenge was the attic floor, where we had to work around the open hoods," concludes Sprangers. "Here we chose a nice mix between Lynar line lighting and spotlights." The fact that both the front and rear of the building allow plenty of daylight to flow in ensures optimal working comfort.