ateliervanberlo

Atelier van Berlo was selected by housing association Habeko Wonen to conduct a feasibility study on the transformation of Het Anker in Hazerswoude-Rijndijk into housing combined with new housing blocks in the surroundings. 

Designed by a young Ton Alberts, Het Anker is typical of organic architecture; a great example of the spirit of the times. After reconstruction, prosperity increased and compartmentalisation declined. In the built environment, people searched for the human scale again and wanted to create places to meet. Het Anker was therefore designed for community and to meet other users. Desires and qualities that we still pursue today. 

In and around the building, there is a desire to create housing for senior citizens and first-time buyers. We do this in consultation with local residents, Habeko Wonen and the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn. Through an intensive participation process, we are gathering the wishes, concerns and ideas from the neighbourhood in order to translate them into a new proposal. The study aims to bring back the former community value of Het Anker and the green surroundings in which the building once stood. In this way the new and current residents have a place to come together.

The characteristic old school building on the Woenselsestraat has been a landmark in Rapenland for more than 100 years. Throughout its history it has contributed to the well-being of the community in various ways through its social function. The area as a whole offers a fantastic opportunity for making the entire neighbourhood as green as possible and the plan aims to maximise the quality of the living environment.

Behind the school building, on the site of the current Lunetzorg building, a green oasis is created which is enclosed by different types of affordable housing. The social organisation will be given a new location in the monumental school building. This will require minimal adjustments and allows to preserve the social character of the school.

By taking an integrated approach to the area as a whole, it will once again become a coherent ensemble that reinforces the green structure of Rapenland. The existing qualities of the monumental school are combined with new opportunities to form a new green heart for the neighbourhood. Together with the new garden, the old school will form a new unique part of the city Eindhoven. A place for current and future local residents, a place for meeting and caring for each other.

Atelier van Berlo and Ector Hoogstad Architecten have teamed up to design a secondary school in Ede. The new premises is set to be the stomping ground for a student and staff body of 1.500. Representatives from both user groups were actively involved in the design process, thereby yielding a design informed by the school’s desire to become even more close-knit as a community. The social and spatial heart of the new building is its multifunctional auditorium, which can be used for everything from school plays to social events and church services. Its large glazed façade maximises the views of the leafy setting, its transparency inviting parents, neighbours and business partners to join the community. A large sports hall and vast playing field encourage healthy living and provide opportunities for activities that strengthen the bonds of community.

The building will boast relief-rich facades of brick and wood, lending it an air of calm and aesthetically pleasing symmetry. The school’s dedication to educational technology is manifested in the design in the form of a “Technasium”, a striking transparent volume with a frame of champagne-coloured anodised aluminium that juts out from the main structure and rests on one of the green hills that define the school grounds. The gap created by this composition forms the entrance to the “world of Het Streek”.

The new building will boast much more than its visual appeal and functional qualities; it will also be highly sustainable. Its deliberately compact form, high-performance façade and fossil-fuel free design will keep its energy needs to a minimum. Its construction will employ environmentally friendly building materials, such as wood and sun-dried bricks, supplemented with material salvaged from the old and now-demolished building. The school will be both climate-adaptive and ecologically supportive, boasting among other things a green space for water storage and a patio designed as a leafy oasis. Conceived to meet the government’s “Frisse School” (Fresh Air Schools) requirements regarding natural light, natural ventilation and views of natural scenery, among other things, the building is as equipped as it can be to support the health and well-being of the school’s students and staff.

The former power plant of Philips is transformed into the multi-tenant Innovation Powerhouse. A transformation from a pure, brute, raw and heavy industrial complex – in size and volume completely unsuitable for office use – into a comfortable, breathing, spacious, fresh and young work environment.

The Innovation Powerhouse is an ecosystem for the innovative industries. A centre of creativity; a hyper-modern, multi-tenant building where different companies meet, inspire and stimulate innovation. Situated on Strijp-T, the out of use power plant is an iconic building, a landmark of Eindhoven. Built in four stages, from 1953 till 1972, the power plant used to provide Philips factories with power through coal, gas and later oil.

The two main points of departure for the design were to maintain the building’s innate architectural qualities and to incorporate this vision of open innovation. Throughout the design this idea of connectives was essential. The architects wanted the companies to constantly meet, to create an almost effortless inspiration of one another, which was translated into a vibrant centre.

To create this vibrant centre, the architect created a clear-cut in the building, a straight line through the heart spanning among others the original central backbone, a 5-meter wide high-rise where the cole chutes still hang at 28-meter hight. Next to this central backbone, the roof is opened up by a skylight spanning the full length, bringing light into the otherwise dark centre of the building and revealing the magnitude of the old heavy concrete structure. In addition, this skylight gives a peek at the facade, allowing all who view it to experience the sheer height of the midpoint.

Due to a change in power fuelling, the original design was never finished. Since there was no longer a need for cole chutes, the 5-meter wide high-rise was never finished. Inspired by the original drawings, the architects added a steel vertical garden to the central high-rise, giving the building its originally intended symmetrical look. This vertical garden with meeting rooms, a glass elevator and emergency exit follows the lines and rhythm of the original architecture. The open, transparent and green appearance hints at a new sustainable green energy production.

The symmetrical look is finished by a glass extension at the back of the building. It follows the lines and rhythm of the building, but through a minimalistic detailing and modern materials, it indicated clearly a new phase for this impressive building.

The other interventions, such as the small windows for light in the offices and the main entrance, are kept small, to ensure that the monumental industrial character of the building stays visible. Within the renovation, there was also great attention for sustainability. Due to HR + glass, solar panels, newly isolated walls and roofs, the building now has an A+ energy label.

De Zwanebloem is a compact, green and sustainable primary school, lying in idyllic surroundings at the edge of the small village Zwaanshoek (NL). The school has an ambitious vision for a more flexible and open learning environment, emphasizing outside learning.

We proposed to create compact classrooms, but to extend them with an outside area and a communal playful inner world. Outside a wooden pergola enables open-air lessons amid nature. The playful inner world between the classrooms, hosts diverse learning places, where scholars can learn, play, and connect. Outside and inside, private and shared, can freely blend within the school.

By shifting the two rows of classrooms, we open-up the corners of the building. With an inviting entrance at one end and an atelier at the other, we bring the beautiful natural surroundings into the heart of the school. Hidden between the trees we propose a wooden shed, hosting technique lessons, where the children can learn by doing with their feet in the mud.

In doing so, we create a flexible and diverse learning environment. During the day, the kids can choose their own workplace, inside their own classroom, in the playful inner world, or somewhere between the trees outside the school.

Amber is a fast-growing start-up that provides electric car-sharing services for businesses. The interior, designed by the Rotterdam-based architecture office Atelier van Berlo, is a translation of the vision and workflow of Amber. As a dynamic, young, and bold company, they wanted an interior that reflects their way of working. An interior that inspires new clients and brings across their highly ambitious sustainable world vision. 

The design plays with two atmospheres; energetic, young, and bold versus professional and serious. A combination of informal meeting spaces, flex desks, a boardroom, and above all, enough room to brainstorm and bounce new ideas of each other forms the program. 

In the center of the office, a brightly colored zone containing all informal functions divides up the work floor. This central area is the beating heart of the office and includes all informal meeting spaces. A slightly lifted platform integrates the lounge area, brainstorm tables, and meeting space. It’s an open zone where coworkers, clients, and partners can meet up, collaborate and inspire one another. The architects allow the users to open up or create a more private space by opening and closing the big curtains. 

At the head sits a blue boardroom, overlooking the office. Here, one can meet in privacy while still remaining in contact with the vibrant heart of the company. The glass walls are used to write ideas on as a giant canvas. The other end of the brightly colored center contains the mint-green kitchen where the team meets up, lunches together, and uses the prominently visible beer tap every Friday. 

The two work floors, separated by the colored center, are entirely grey. The furniture (Boring Collection) blends with the concrete construction, floor, and installations. The chairs and desks suit the industrial characteristics of the building. This ton sur ton approach of the work floors allowed the architects to use bright and energetic colors for the informal meeting areas. The informal zone functions as an acoustic buffer between the two work floors, with the programmers on one side and the helpdesk on the other. 

The design brings together the different workflows, the philosophy of Amber, and the beauty of the original architecture. Located in the Innovation Powerhouse, the former power plant of Philips in Eindhoven (NL), Amber fits seamlessly in the concept of this multi-tenant office building.

Vision for the redevelopment of the former Schellens factory at the border of the city centre of Eindhoven. The goal was to preserve the current character of the complex and simultaneously add housing to the site in close dialogue with the current inhabitants.

Design company VanBerlo is the initiator of the Innovation Powerhouse, and as such also the first tenant to take place in the new building. Their vision of open innovation, inspiration and connectivity was key in the design of the Innovation Powerhouse, and also in their own offices.

The design firm wanted an inspiring workspace, young, fresh, clean, raw industrial but with high quality. Clients and staff should feel welcome, at home and inspired. This resulted in a design with a large central communal space. An area where everything and everybody come to gather; where staff and visitors come to collaborate, innovate and socialize. All the rooms connect to this space, which also houses an exhibition of market trends and past design products. The main staircase doubles as a mini theatre and impromptu meeting place.

The surrounding rooms are meeting rooms, breakaway rooms,  spaces for informal sessions and presentations, specially designed workshops and rooms for usability tests, hackathons, and scrum sessions, all allowing staff to work intensively on projects together with clients, partners, and universities. To arouse the character of open innovation and transparency, all the interior walls are made of glass, with only a few expectations there where some intimacy was required.

In contrast to the lively communal area, the design team floors are calmer, white gray and natural materials, to create a blanc canvas where  the products and idea’s can occur.

Met het ontwerp ‘Voor de Wind’ proberen we de dynamiek van de stad Terneuzen vast te leggen. De Westerschelde is constant in beweging met haar getijden. Boten en schepen komen en gaan. Elke inwoner van Terneuzen heeft wel een persoonlijke herinnering aan een vertrekkend of inkomend schip. Of de golvende zeilen van de Vliegende Hollander, of een ander toekomstig avontuur overzee. Terneuzen is een werkende stad, in volle gang, altijd vooruitkijkend.

Deze dynamiek wordt vertaald in een iconische uitkijktoren die haven, water & stad met elkaar verbindt. De toren bestaat uit een cortenstalen schil dat lijkt mee te waaien met de wind. Door zijn vloeiende lijnen lijkt de toren uit de dijk te springen en verankert hij zich in het landschap. Door zijn asymmetrische plaatsing opent de schil zich naar de stad en omarmt naderende bezoekers. Bezoekers worden beschermd tegen harde wind en geluiden. Openingen onder en in de schelp maken het water en andere elementen voelbaar. Binnen de schelp ontstaat een serene en beschermde sfeer, waar de natuurlijke elementen samenkomen. Vanaf het plateau leidt een royale wenteltrap naar boven naar het uitkijkplatform, waar middels een panoramisch uitzicht de stad Terneuzen, de prachtige industrie en de dynamische Westerschelde in haar volle glorie is te bewonderen.

The municipality of Rotterdam asked us to imagine a vision for Maritime Museum Rotterdam, originally designed by Wim Quist. In this research-by-design trajectory we worked closely with multidisciplinary stakeholders, to analyze, conceptualize and visualize a possible future.

Our proposal reinterpreted the historical Leuvehaven as the heart of the Maritime Museum. Around the water an ensemble of buildings, ships and other relics form a quirky harbor amid the slick city center of Rotterdam. Altogether the elements form a pearl necklace that embraces the versatility of the Maritime Museum. In doing so the Leuvehaven becomes a place where you can wander around, connecting the in- and outside museum naturally.