BREEAM In-Use excellent bestowed to DNV GL

The globally active Norwegian classification society DNV GL (which includes KEMA) is going to be rehoused in the former TenneT building in Arnhem. Measuring 9,500 m², the large building will be completed with a BREEAM In-Use Excellent certificate. Designed in the late 1980s by Broekbakema, the exterior will be left untouched apart from the addition of a new transparent plaza facade. The plaza will become the new heart of the complex as well as the eye-catching feature that gives the building a new fresh look in keeping with DNV GL. The plaza also serves as the entrance lobby where all the employees enter the building and talk, arrange to have lunch together in the restaurant, or gather for a meeting at the conference centre. From the plaza, the fully glazed facade offers a grand view of the lush parkland surrounding the complex. A neutral pale cast floor reinforces the bright and transparent nature of the plaza. Anchor elements such as the service desk, stairs and gathering locations feature pale oak with a horizontal line pattern. The backdrop consists of an LED wall display showing the worldwide scope of DNV GL operations.

Throughout the building, the patterned oak marks the locations where employees meet in gathering places such as coffee corners, informal meeting spots, and reproduction rooms. The horizontal line pattern refers to the DNV GL logo and also appears in other locations within the building, including the striped window panes of meeting rooms that ensure a degree of privacy. On the office floors, the communal spaces are also marked by the colour of the floor, DNV GL blue. The office floors are fully open plan and are fringed by transparent concentration rooms. The same goes for the wing housing the laboratories. As they pass along the continuous corridor, employees can see what goes on inside the labs.

The building, a joint design by De Zwarte Hond and Powerhouse Company, is scheduled to be ready for use in September 2015.

For further information please contact André van der Slik.