OMA renew the Rijnstraat 8, in The Hague
03/06/2014.
[The Hague] The Netherlands
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA.
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA.
OMA, working with BAN and ISS as the consortium PoortCentral, has been selected to transform Rijnstraat 8. The contract was signed in The Hague on Monday 2 June. The new building design, initiated by the Dutch Government, will host the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Environment, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and the COA. The new concept has been developed in collaboration with Jan Hoogstad, the architect who did the original design.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM.
New Rijnstraat 8, by OMA. Image © Poortcentraal, OMA, BAM
The ministry building, Rijnstraat 8 project, was originally designed by Jan Hoogstad in the 1980’s. The design for the transformation of the building is made by OMA. OMA developed an integrated concept in collaboration with Jan Hoogstad. It strengthens the existing architectural qualities, transforming the existing building into a modern and comfortable environment and opening the building to the public space. The base of the building will be transparent, public routes will be given a new dimension and the building will be re-connected to the city.
The design was developed in collaboration with Ector Hoogstad Architects, Wessel de Jonge Architects, YNNO, DGMR, ARUP, BAM Advies & Engineering and Valstar Simonis.
According to the schedule, the property will be completed in late 2016 and in 2017 several organisations will move in to the renovated building, namely: the ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service and the COA (central organisation for the reception of asylum seekers).
Description of the project by OMA
OMA, BAM and ISS, working as the consortium PoortCentral, have been awarded the contract for the renovation of Rijnstraat 8 - formerly the office of the VROM Ministry in The Hague.
The project, initiated by the Dutch government, will create a new lease of life for the centrally located building, accommodating the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Environment, Immigration and Naturalisation Services, and the CAO (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers).
The former VROM Ministry (Transport, Spatial Planning and Environment) will be transformed from the traditional headquarters of a single government department to flexible office spaces suitable for multiple organisations. The current government has been implementing major changes to its organisational structure; OMA's proposal caters to pressures for greater efficiency within the central government.
OMA has developed an integrated concept in collaboration with the building's original architect, Jan Hoogstad. There will be a strong focus on a renewal of the architectural qualities of Hoogstad's design. The new proposal will carefully redevelop the existing 1993 building to accommodate the demands of the contemporary political and social functions of the government ministries, bringing greater transparency and opening it up to the adjacent public space. Solid walls are replaced with glazing whilst public pathways are given greater definition, further connecting the building to the city.
The project has been established in cooperation with Ector Hoogstad Architecten, Wessel de Jonge Architecten, YNNO, DGMR, ARUP, BAM Advies & Engineering and Valstar Simonis.
The consortium, consisting of BAM PPP PGGM, BAM Utiliteitsbouw, BAM Techniek and ISS Nederland, is supported by Rabobank International and Allianz Global Investors Europe.
Text.- OMA
More information
OMA. Office for Metropolitan Architecture
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international practice operating within the traditional boundaries of architecture and urbanism. AMO, a research and design studio, applies architectural thinking to domains beyond. OMA is led by eight partners – Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, Shohei Shigematsu, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, Jason Long, and Managing Partner-Architect David Gianotten – and maintains offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. OMA-designed buildings currently under construction are the renovation of Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) in Berlin, The Factory in Manchester, Hangzhou Prism, the CMG Times Center in Shenzhen and the Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux.
OMA’s completed projects include Taipei Performing Arts Centre (2022), Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles (2020), Norra Tornen in Stockholm (2020), Axel Springer Campus in Berlin (2020), MEETT Toulouse Exhibition and Convention Centre (2020), Galleria in Gwanggyo (2020), WA Museum Boola Bardip (2020), nhow RAI Hotel in Amsterdam (2020), a new building for Brighton College (2020), and Potato Head Studios in Bali (2020). Earlier buildings include Fondazione Prada in Milan (2018), Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow (2015), De Rotterdam (2013), CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012), Casa da Música in Porto (2005), and the Seattle Central Library (2004).
AMO often works in parallel with OMA's clients to fertilize architecture with intelligence from this array of disciplines. This is the case with Prada: AMO's research into identity, in-store technology, and new possibilities of content-production in fashion helped generate OMA's architectural designs for new Prada epicenter stores in New York and Los Angeles. In 2004, AMO was commissioned by the European Union to study its visual communication, and designed a colored "barcode" flag, combining the flags of all member states, which was used during the Austrian presidency of the EU. AMO has worked with Universal Studios, Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Heineken, Ikea, Condé Nast, Harvard University and the Hermitage. It has produced Countryside: The Future, a research exhibited at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York; exhibitions at the Venice Architecture Biennale, including Public Works (2012), Cronocaos (2010), and The Gulf (2006); and for Fondazione Prada, including When Attitudes Become Form (2012) and Serial and Portable Classics (2015). AMO, with Harvard University, was responsible for the research and curation of the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale and its publication Elements. Other notable projects are Roadmap 2050, a plan for a Europe-wide renewable energy grid; Project Japan, a 720-page book on the Metabolism architecture movement (Taschen, 2010); and the educational program of Strelka Institute in Moscow.
