Atrium Zuidas, Amsterdam

On the ground floor, the Atrium’s public areas harbour restaurants, cafés and shops for visitors, as well as the office tenants. The general public, including local residents, are thus included in the Atrium community. The adaptation of these public spaces is an important aspect of the design, helping to avoid the ‘office ghetto’ feel of yesteryear by mixing and blending functions.

The building’s tenants meanwhile benefit from the many office facilities, such as extensive meeting and conference rooms, and also from inhouse services such as dry cleaning and a car wash, plus a large gym and a fine office restaurant.

Flowing façade

Our new façade achieves subtly flowing lines that integrate the building beautifully into the public context – with the boulevard and commercial functions – while adding to the beauty of its design. Specially manufactured glass allowed us to incorporate rounded corners, with special curved -lass windows each consisting of a single pane with a 2.4m span. These large windows provide panoramic views of the Zuidas for those inside. Passers-by, on the other hand, can enjoy glimpses of the building’s landscaped winter gardens, which are visible from the outside.

Cars go underground

Placing car parking underground results in more space for the pedestrian zone, which will have lots of greenery and benches, attracting people to spend time walking or sitting in the pleasant surroundings. The existing parking garage, which was located under the A10, had to be moved because of the future tunneling, and a two-storey car park with 525 places was realized beneath the Atrium’s two new towers. From the subterranean car park, drivers reach the central hall via two shuttle lifts.

Sustainability strengths

As co-founder of the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC), G & S Vastgoed, one of the two clients, was one of the developers of the Dutch version of the BREEAM method, an innovative approach to measuring the sustainability of new and existing real estate. The renovation of the Atrium scores high on this sustainability scale. The design for the new building meets BREEAM Excellent standards. For tenants, these high standards not only contribute to a healthier environment for workers, but also reduced energy costs.

Glorious gardens

The new towers feature beautiful indoor gardens, which are arranged at various angles over two or three floors and are visible from outside the building. Every rooftop has also been ‘greened’ with its own rooftop vegetation. On its boulevard side, the building flanks a landscaped 15,000 m² garden, which (like the interior gardens) can function as a meeting place.

Program: Offices

Completion: 2018

Building surface: 70.000 m2