De Haagse Hogeschool is centrally located, connected with the southern entrance to the Holland Spoor station, making it a key junction with the city of The Hague, and is situated in the former Laakhaven area. It is the linchpin of the newly developed Laakhaven area, a place to live, work and study. Housed in premises measuring 85,000m2, De Haagse Hogeschool is one of the largest institutes for higher professional education in the Netherlands, with 15,000 students pursuing 55 different subjects, giving the city a thriving student culture.
The strength of the design – chosen unanimously by all concerned in 1997 in a multi-party commission involving OD 205, EGM, Hoogstad and Atelier PRO – lies in its integration with the city and the overall development of the area, including an underground car park in one part of the old docks. As a result, Haagse Hogeschool became not just a solitary building, but part of the very fibre of the city. This same attitude encouraged the merger of the many educational institutes that came together to form De Haagse Hogeschool.