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Light makes all the difference in regenerated Strawinskyhuis

A warm light shines through the dozens of atrium windows onto the bare ground floor of the Strawinskyhuis. Less than two years ago, there was a courtyard garden here complete with pond, but this has made way for a spectacular atrium. As we look up, we can see the grid of slanted windows that playfully send the sun’s rays in all directions. In a previous update on construction progress, we reported that it would transform the Strawinskyhuis from dark and closed, to light and open – and the result can now be seen. ‘This place was still full of scaffolding until a few days ago’, says Jurriaan Snijders van FLOW Real Estate, who is giving us a guided tour of the new building. ‘Removing all the scaffolding again is always an exciting moment – it was only at that point that we were able to see how everything has come together. The atrium has turned out beautifully.’

Buffer between high-rise and low-rise

In this strip of Zuidas, the 1970s-built Strawinskyhuis and several other brutalist buildings mark a kind of transition between the high-rise buildings of Zuidas and the low-rise buildings of Prinses Irenebuurt on the northern side. Over the years, most of the brutalist buildings have been renovated, extended or are currently being transformed. As in the case of another building, PI59, slightly further along the street, the thick concrete façade panels on the front of the Strawinskyhuis have been replaced by large windows and light and airy modern façade elements. The bunker-like appearance of the office building, home to the Amsterdam district court until a short time ago, is now a thing of the past.

Finishing

The official opening of part of Strawinskyhuis will be in early April, after which the tenant DLA Piper will begin with the finishing work. The law firm is set to move into the building at the end of 2023. ‘In the meantime, we continue to work at pace’, says Snijders, pointing towards the atrium. ‘On the garden floor – which is what we called the lowered ground floor– there’s still a reception and a coffee bar to be added. The floor will be tiled in natural stone and there’ll be a nice big tree in the middle.’

Smart inner façade

The inner façade of the atrium has a smart and cohesive look – the plasterwork is pure white, there are beautifully clean lines and a fresh feel. The fact that an annex of around a thousand square metres has been added is not remotely obvious to the naked eye. ‘The original building was U-shaped’, explains Snijders. ‘Closing it off has resulted in a kind of P-shape, creating space for the atrium. We have continued the profile of the inner façade all the way along, preventing weird angles and ensuring a cohesive appearance overall.’ Above the future coffee bar, there is still a ruddy brown steel structure that seems to be floating, lost in the space. ‘That will be a sealed, glass conference room’, says Snijders. ‘The whole of this floor will have meeting rooms in it for DLA, with views out onto the atrium.’

Another 2,000 lettable square metres

Snijders then escorts us up to the first floor – confusingly enough exactly at ground level – on the southern side of the building. Anyone who remembers the old Strawinskyhuis may find themselves having to look twice at it. The windows, which previously covered a third of the façade, now run from floor to ceiling and offer views of the adjacent Amaliaplein. Snijders: ‘Some 75% of the Strawinskyhuis is being let to DLA Piper. The section where we’re now standing has not yet been let. It’s around 2,000 square metres in total. Of course, the atrium is shared.’

Sustainability

Not only is the Strawinskyhuis being transformed into a modern office building, it will also meet today’s sustainability requirements. After completion, it will boast BREEAM Outstanding certification, the best possible label for sustainable buildings. The building features a thermal energy heating system (WKO), and when we reach the top floor, we see a series of solar panels on the roof. ‘The atrium roof has acoustic panels on the inside’, says Snijders, as he stands alongside one of the triangular projections that make up the roof. Lined up next each other, they look like a huge serrated knife – from this angle, the roof elements look much larger than they do from the garden floor. ‘The solar panels are on the southern side, where the sun shines the most. The windows are on the northern side: ensuring that they allow sunlight to enter, but not too directly. What’s more, the sunlight that enters also helps heat up the building.’

We previously built a construction road leading from Strawinskylaan in order to prevent the need for construction traffic to travel through Prinses Irenestraat to reach Strawinskyhuis. To make that possible, we had to close the cycle path and footpath in Strawinskypad next to the Strawinskyhuis. Internal construction work will continue on the Strawinskyhuis until the end of 2023. Since the construction road will remain in use for this purpose, the cycle path and footpath will be closed until Christmas 2023.

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