Tax Authorities and IND, Pharostoren Hoofddorp

Interior construction, interior design, fittings and part of furnishings in an office building for 2 government departments in Hoofddorp.
The request was to finish a design already under construction (the “Pharos tower”) of Kohn, Pedersen & Fox from London, from the bare building, and to furnish it as offices for the Immigration and Naturalisation Dept. (IND) and the Tax & Customs Authorities. A flexible interior design was developed for this project, with glass walls and modular furniture. The interior is geared to changes in the organisation and supports various office design concepts (combo office).
The assignment for design of the interior for two government departments has been interpreted as the need to mediate in a field of tension between the individual and the collective. The massive scope and need for communication of both organisations is at loggerheads with the need for recognition and privacy of the individual employees.
This antithesis is the basis for a quality, exciting working environment. In order to achieve that, three main interior elements were developed: a wall system made of clear and translucent glass, closed entrance elements for the rooms in various saturated colours and modular furniture with wood, leather and aluminium. The result is a working environment in which each employee has his or her own office, but the collective remains visible thanks to the transparency of the glass. The extremely thin solid glass wall systems without a visible framework meet very high standards for acoustics, fire proofing and protection against breakage, and were developed in cooperation with the producer, as were the entrance elements. The colour combinations of these elements with doors, determined randomly, are different for each floor and therefore offer recognition. The kaleidoscopic use of colours gives a quiet decor in the meeting areas around the nucleus and between the rooms. These zones have been designed with the modular adaptable furniture for the purpose of informal meetings, filing systems and equipment use. Although they are collective zones, they can therefore also be individually allocated.
Besides the office workstations, the assignment for interior design of the newly constructed office tower, directly adjacent to Hoofddorp train station also included the interiors of the entrance, reception desks, the restaurant and a communal conference centre. The working environments of the two government departments have been worked out slightly individually in order to cater for the various requirements in terms of privacy, security and communication of the Tax & Customs Authorities and the Immigration & Naturalisation dept. Critical analysis of the assignment and a resolute search for modern and innovative means have resulted in a surprisingly optimistic working environment.

redesign of the ground floor of the Pharos tower for IND in Hoofddorp
The assignment was to adapt an interior designed by us in order to expand on the public functions of the IND on the ground floor. The bare building of this rented office of 20,000 m2 was finished by architecten van Mourik a number of years ago, as offices for the Immigration & Naturalisation dept. (IND) and the Tax & Customs Authorities.
The IND is taking over extra desk functions from the municipal authorities. It was therefore decided to make one wing of the building public. A new entrance was made in the facade for this purpose, so that the public area can function independently of the office area, and the reception of the main entrance can be retained in its present form.
The plan comprises two desks, thirteen cubicles and interview rooms. There are two types of traffic areas; public and non-public. The non-public area is located between the facade and functions, and offers room for the employees. These rooms have daylight thanks to the use of translucent glass in the interview rooms on the facade side. The public area is central and very orderly. By keeping the ceiling of the cubicles open and unattached, this area has daylight from both sides and becomes very transparent.
It was decided not to change the ceiling, because it had already been optimised during the previous process , thanks to the shape of the building, and instead to have the new functions fall under the ceiling in boxes as it were. The cubicles are open at the top. It was important that the new interior be given the same look as the rest of the building. It therefore makes use of the same materials and colours.