European HQ Sabic

floors like rice fields

The egg form of the head office of Sabic in Sittard is based on renewal, transparency and approachability. The core values of Sabic. GROUP A designed the exterior, the interior and the landscape which lead to a unity in concept, execution and atmosphere. Sabic introduced, as one of the first in the Netherlands, the New Ways of Work, which resulted in one open space that stimulates contact and working together.

The head office with eight floors and a basement for parking is situated on a prominent site in Sittard which is connected by a green axis with the Fortuna stadium. The design is based on the idea of transparency towards the outside and the inside. The structural glass façade ensures a good contact with the outside world.

The funnel shaped and low threshold entrance draws visitors into the heart of the building. The spatial context and functional requirements such as climate control suggested an atrium with cascading floors soaring up to the sky. A variety of functions such as reception, waiting space and coffee bar are incorporated in the large welcome desk, thus creating a barrier without giving this impression.

Because of the New Ways of Work there are no individual working places but various zones: individual and open offices, meeting zones, concentration spaces and quiet spaces. In this way the plaza with its restaurant on the ground floor serves as a meeting place and outside lunch hours as a working space. Transparency can not only be felt towards the outside, but also towards the inside: mutual contact is stimulated. While walking through this symmetric building with asymmetric elements one encounters continually changing perspectives and views.