Arena Two Offices

The architectural basic scheme comprises two five-storey building volumes which have been 'pulled' apart. By this a narrow passage in the continuation of the principal axis is created which both separates (street) and connects (overhangs in the facade) the two buildings. Although the building plots are not identical, these overhangs result in two office buildings which are virtually identical in shape; a requirement specified by the client in connection with the leasability of the buildings.

Because of the narrowed entry to the offices, the axis and the entrance to the office building are clearly marked. The central foyer has been designed as an atrium which begins in the parking garage below ground level. Entrances to buildings from a parking garage are often underexposed but, because of this unusual intervention, that is not the case here: on leaving their cars, visitors find themselves directly in the high, spacious atrium.

The exterior elevations are executed in grey slate with aluminium window frames. The elevations on the passageway between the two buildings are in wood, as are the atrium walls. So the building's exterior gives a hint of the interior. The transition from interior to exterior consists of an unobtrusive glazed facade which ends in a roof.
Both buildings are composed of U-shaped storeys which are rotated by a quarter turn in relation to the storey below. The opening of each U-shaped storey is in a different place, this defines the fenestration in the exterior elevations. A strong spatial effect in this tight setting is created by diagonal insights through the building.

The raised atrium roof, with glaze openings, and the set-back glazed fronts in the openings in the facade allow abundant daylight into the work spaces. This results in a wide range of work spaces as well as a natural and physical relationship with the surroundings, an express wish of the client and the 'all-round' presence of both office buildings which, in view of the location, was a wish of TANGRAM Architekten.