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The innovation platform Epicenter comes to Zuidas

Epicenter is a place where digital innovation and growth is encouraged and nurtured. It provides a workplace for scale-ups (fast-growing businesses) and large companies, and more importantly, it nurtures an innovative and collaborative community. The goal of this community is to inspire each other, share knowledge and learn from each other in order to achieve digital innovation and rapid growth that helps take our society forwards, according to CEO and co-founder Patrick Mesterton.

Office as a service

Epicenter’s physical premises are an essential factor in achieving this growth. ‘Our ambition is that having scale-ups and large businesses work alongside one another will encourage them to work together and reinforce each other’, explains Mesterton. ‘We also believe that the workplace should be more than just a designated number of square metres.’ Mesterton set up Epicenter based on the ‘office as a service’ philosophy: business premises that provide inspirational surroundings, flexible space, lots of greenery and delicious coffee. This total package also allows members to participate in training courses and innovation labs organized by Epicenter on a diverse range of themes, tackling everything from blockchain to mindfulness! The ambition is to inspire businesses to co-create, develop innovative new ideas and grow.

Smart building: EDGE Olympic

Based on this philosophy, it is not difficult to see why Epicenter chose to set up shop in EDGE Olympic. After all, this building was designed by EDGE Technologies based on exactly the same innovative vision, involving smart technology, sustainability and circularity. ‘When redeveloping the building, we strove to reuse as many existing materials as possible. For example, the marble floor in Epicenter’s hall used to be the building façade’, says Mesterton. The building is full of smart applications and concepts. To conserve energy, the building has sensors in practically every square metre of ceiling that detect whether specific areas are in use and adjust the lighting and temperature accordingly.

Perfect match

It’s no coincidence that Epicenter chose to establish itself at EDGE Olympic. ‘In October 2017, Coen van Oostrom of OVG Real Estate told me about EDGE Olympic and a week later I flew out to go and take a look. It was such a perfect match that we had moved in within a couple of months.’ Epicenter’s philosophy is really catching on. The company was founded in Stockholm in 2015, its Amsterdam premises will open in July and next autumn, Epicenter will open a branch in New York.

 

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