In The Hague, the Dutch King officially opened the OMA-designed Rijnstraat 8 government building yesterday. With OMA Partner Ellen van Loon and architect Bart Nicolaas as the project leads, the firm helped renovate the former VROM building, which marks the first big step in the Dutch government's larger masterplan to reduce their real estate in the political capital.
Showing off seemingly vast transparent glass facades, the new 100,000 m2 Rijnstraat 8 houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers, and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
OMA redesigned the building in a way that allows for flexible ways of working and requires less office space. New open office plans, glass facades that replaced solid walls, and a new walkway that runs the entire length of the building were all added. OMA also created a large public square-like space.
Sustainable features include solar panels, triple glass in the atria, reduced energy consumption, and reduced usage of new materials. “Of the 20 percent of the building that was demolished, 99.7 percent has been reused,” OMA describes.
“I have redesigned the former VROM building as a super flexible and sustainable multi-ministry building, which increases the visibility between departments and promotes the interaction between the Ministries and the city life of The Hague through its transparent facade and clearly visible entrances,” Ellen van Loon said in a statement. Moving forward, van Loon will also be the lead architect for renovating the Second House of Parliament.
Check out more project photos below.
3 Comments
Nice, but needs more OMA weird moments like the yellow escalator
these guys need to reinvent themselves fast
They got very dark and so serious the past few years. Need to rediscover their humor (and keep doing weird experimental media projects).
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