Engineering Office in Rotterdam
In the hall of a former steelworks attractively situated on the River Maas, the architects developed an unusual office concept with a loft-like ambience for a partner engineering practice. The building consists of a steel skeleton-frame structure with an outer skin of brick infill panels. For financial reasons, it was not possible to undertake a radical renewal nor to upgrade the energy performance of the building envelope. Instead, the workplaces were designed in the form of air-conditioned boxes. The spatial qualities within the large volume with its impressive steel structure thus remained intact. After removing unattractive smaller annexes, large-area windows were built into the hall. The load-bearing structure was refurbished, and the existing brickwork and screeds were cleaned.
