KeenSystems is situated along the ring road around the village of Gemert. The decision to not establish their new office building for the hi-tech company in the city of Eindhoven comes from the desire to operate from a very much green and inspiring environment.
The noise barrier that follows the ring road is continued and completed to strengthen the green character. The office building is placed on top of this noise barrier. Through a path that winds up over the noise barrier the main entrance is accessed.
The building consists of three levels. Each level has its own specific function which can be read in both the interior as well as the exterior. The sunken ground floor accommodates supportive function for the offices. In addition to these services and storage facilities, a communal relaxation and videogame area has been created underneath the cantilever. The first floor, the largest rectangular volume, accommodates all operational teams. The volume is oriented in such a way that the long façades focus on the green-lined pond in the northwest and the historical farmland, Bolle Akker in Dutch, in the southeast. The second floor, a mirrored box accommodates the conference room and canteen with adjacent outdoor space amidst the grass roof.
Both structure and material application strive to emphasise the Hi-Tech character of KeenSystems. The steel spaceframe cantilevering the first floor, the copper-coloured and mirrored glass façades all detailed and constructed with surgical precision.
The longitudinal façades are facing south and north with varying heat and cooling loads for the adjacent rooms. The climate control system is able to exchange natural heating and cooling between the various rooms. Rooms on the north side can therefore benefit from the heating of spaces on the south side and vice versa.
Credits:
- Denkkamer - Project architect - Peter Verschuren
- Bouwkundig bureau berg - Building code consultant - Rik van den Berg
- Archimedes bouwadvies - Structural engineer - Rob van Gestel
- Denkkamer - Interior architect - Celine Hendriks
- Domen Consultancy - Fire safety consultant - Roy Domen
- Denkkamer - Project architect - Dennis van de Rijdt
- FJ swinkels advies - Energy and installation consultant - Frans Jozef Swinkels
- Denkkamer - Technical architect - Leonique Winnen
- ConSolide - Structural engineer staircase - Mieke van den Munckhof