The Rock office building in Claude Debussylaan was completed less than 15 years ago (2010), but the interior is now set to have a major make-over. Following the departure of its main tenant, law firm De Brauw, the prestigious office building next to the A10 Zuid (at 90 m tall, one of the highest in Zuidas) needs to be prepared for new tenants. This will mean a change to the layout, a major sustainability upgrade and a completely different use for the ground floor and mezzanine. Renovation work will start in mid-October 2024 and is expected to take around a year. Part of the building will remain in use during renovations.
Traditional interior set to change
So, what will be happening in the course of that year and how will it affect the local area? We put that question to Peter Jansen from Arcadis, who is working as project manager on the renovation. ‘The interior of the Rock is still traditional and was fitted out very much with a law firm in mind’, he says. ‘Stately and featuring a lot of natural stone. But the same also applies to the facilities: for example, the mezzanine has a court room and an auditorium in it and the floors have been divided up into separate offices. In order to adapt the building for different tenants, we aim to make the ground floor and the mezzanine more accessible and livelier. The new features will include an all-day bar with seating and the old facilities will disappear. They’ll be replaced by areas to meet and conference rooms that can be booked by the new tenants. We believe that this is a much better match for the needs of the wider public and the local area.’
Sustainability upgrade
The mezzanine, first and second floors will be given a completely different look and feel and adapted for multifunctional use. The third floor up to and including the eighth floor will remain unchanged, because they have been let to other parties over the years. The floors above that (floors 9 to 22) will be returned to a shell layout, enabling new tenants to fit them out to suit their own taste. The owner DEKA is also seizing the opportunity to give The Rock a sustainability upgrade. Jansen: ‘With De Brauw now relocating to Tripolis Park, two-thirds of The Rock will be left vacant, so this is an opportune moment. We plan to replace the old-style climate control system with one that’s better able to anticipate conditions and more energy-efficient. There will be a green roof and solar panels, fluorescent lighting will be replaced by LED lights, that kind of thing.’
Entrance close to the Brittenpassage
The exterior of The Rock will retain the same look and feel, but the entrance on the north side will have a more prominent role. This means that The Rock will be looking to the future, because this additional entrance is in Arnold Schönberglaan, right next to the entrance of the new Brittenpassage, the additional passenger tunnel at Amsterdam Zuid station. This is set to open in 2027 at the latest. ‘At the entrance, there will be a canopy with the building’s name on it’, says Jansen. ‘As a result, The Rock will soon be visible and accessible from the Brittenpassage. Currently, this entrance is not used very much and is slightly out of sight.’
Construction road in Benjamin Brittenstraat
Disruption to the local area is expected to remain limited. During the renovation works, Benjamin Brittenstraat will be used as a construction route for outgoing freight traffic. Incoming transport will be from Parnassusweg, via the construction site for The CubeHouse. Traffic controllers will be on hand in Claude Debussylaan at times when construction traffic is exiting. This road will also be used to transport materials in and out of the construction site for The CubeHouse.
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