We initiated the redevelopment of this property in collaboration with GRO, a company that grows mushrooms in the building. As part of the harbour area’s transition into a live/work district, the building is designed to preserve the harbours’ local ‘maker’ culture while primarily providing space for start-ups in the food sector. As a result of our study on the building’s role in the broader context, a cycle path was added along the back of the building, connecting Houthavens and Westerpark. With the introduction of the cycle path, the building’s orientation is ‘reversed’, placing the new frontage and entrance on the south side, facing the cycle path. The existing parking lot is transformed into a green outdoor area with fruit trees and picnic benches.

The primary goal of the conversion is to create large, open spaces where companies can collaborate and share facilities. All system walls and ceilings are removed, exposing the trusses, concrete columns and beams of the original loadbearing structure. In the newly created open-plan work areas, a greenhouse construction system was used to install meeting rooms and create separate multifunctional spaces and kitchens. Despite limited financial resources (€ 205/m²), a flexible shell has been created, allowing start-up companies to optimally express their unique identities.

The entire building previously relied on an outdated air conditioning and cooling system that consumed a significant amount of energy. Given that the building had a well-functioning central heating system with radiators and well-insulated window frames, we decided to insulate the roof, heat the building using the radiators and ventilate it with the operable windows. After a typical 1980s renovation that hid away much of the building’s beauty behind system walls and ceilings and cluttered it with an excessive number of installations, it has now been restored to its original state. It can finally breathe freely again!