Laboratories and offices for the Food Inspection Department

The new laboratory stands like an ‘alien’ in its still to develop area. With its metal skin the relative big volume reminds of the shipbuilding yards in the surrounding area.
The most eye-catching are the heads of the building at the south-east-side.
The offices in the heads offer a wide view over the nearby sport fields, the bridge over the river Noord and – in the distance – the old city Dordrecht. The rest of the building is for reasons of climate control relatively closed.

Apparently random placed windows take away scale. This is most evident at the south-west side, where the building borders on the gardens of the neighboring houses.
Atria supply the building with light and fresh air. By showing the steel construction and the nodes deriving from the interplay of forces the interior gets a somewhat rough character which contrasts with the smooth out-side skin. Sight lines connect all the different employees and visitors into one organization.

Photography by: Luuk Kramer

Source: Mies Arch Prize: http://www.miesarch.com/