Near Rijnsweerd in Utrecht, a business centre by the name of 'Archiparc' was built. One of the basic principles of the client was the realisation of a highly varied style of building.
He therefore invited several architectural firms with very diverse ideas on architecture to design one building each on the terrain - within the framework of a fixed urban planning, of course.
Apart from our firm, the following architects or firms were invited: Mart van Schijndel, Cees Dam, Abe Bonnema, T+T Design and Rem Koolhaas.
When we started designing the building, we were already aware that Cap Gemini would be using it. This company wanted to accommodate a large computer room, a cafeteria, a training and conference centre, and several utilitarian functions in the building.
Based on these details, a building with a 'drawer'-structure came into being; every storey has its own specific length. The 'drawers' are suspended from four towers, in which the toilets, the lifts and the staircases are situated. The towers also provide the building's solidity. Over the rooftop, the towers are connected through large steel ribs, on which the air-conditioning units are mounted.
The individual towers on the outside of the building provide an uninterrupted floor area on every storey, resulting in a maximum flexibility.
The building has a surface area of 6030 m2 and a capacity of 21.100 m3. Between our building and that of T+T Design, we designed two steel footbridges.