Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn

eight-meter high stairway bent around a glass elevator

GROUP A is responsible for the interior design for Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn attorneys and notaries. The interior for the firm where the state advocate is a partner, is both timeless and contemporary and features a rich and harmonious use of materials. In order to create an open work environment, and to subdue the effect of the dividing walls, transparent glass partitions were frequently used.

In the design for the interior for Pels Rijcken, GROUP A was faced with a number of dilemmas that asked for an appropriate answer. The office is located in the New Babylon building, next to the main railway station. The official main entrance is located on the 2nd floor. Pels Rijcken however longed for an entrance at the Bezuidenhoutseweg, connected with the reception desk on the 2nd  floor. GROUP A have responded to the clients wish with a spectacular curved staircase and a panorama lift to the more than 8 meters higher reception.

The exceptional solution that GROUP A resolved for the inadequate amount of daylight in a part of the office was the answer to another dilemma. As a part of the offices faces a dead wall, over a height of four storeys, it was impossible to use it as a regular office floor. GROUP A chose this area for the location of the library, situated on three levels, visually connected by voids. The bookshelves continue through the voids, emphasizing the verticality. The library is used to house the antiquarian book collection, for studying but is primarily a visible source of knowledge.

On the office floors the supporting functions are located between the cellular offices, in the open office areas that function like small squares. Pels Rijcken has its own auditorium, which is used for external as well as internal meetings. This auditorium can be enlarged or scaled down by the clever use of curtains. Specific meeting areas, like the bar and the restaurant, can be recognised by a different, distinctive use of materials and colours.

Facts

Client

Pels Rijcken & Droogleever Fortuijn

Assignment

Interior design

Location

Bezuidenhoutseweg, The Hague, NL

Area

13,000 sqm

Function

Offices

Start design

April 2007

Start construction

July 2009

Completed

March 2010

Photography

Roos Aldershoff

The makers of this project

Folkert van Hagen

Folkert van Hagen

folkert@groupa.nl Architect | Partner

Lolke Ket

Lolke Ket

lolke@groupa.nl Architect | Projectleader

Brigitte van der Tuin

Brigitte van der Tuin

brigitte@groupa.nl Interior architect

Melis Gurbuzbalaban

Melis Gurbuzbalaban

Sara Rojo

Sara Rojo

Ramon Wijsman

Ramon Wijsman

Andrea Gianotti

Andrea Gianotti

Suzanne Linders

Suzanne Linders

Bahar Akkoclu

Bahar Akkoclu

Nir Goldberg

Nir Goldberg

Sandra Bsat

Sandra Bsat

Jasper Vos

Jasper Vos

External stakeholders

Project management

Rietmeijer Huisvestingsadviseur

Contractor

Intos Interieurmakers

Contractor

Finitouch