Adeline Seidel: Why did the company opt for a greenfield development over new premises closer to the city – and the hustle and bustle of urban life?

Pieter Kool: G-Star RAW wanted to consolidate all its seven divisions in the one location – and that required a lot of space. And in a city like Amsterdam this is a considerable cost factor that should not be underestimated. In addition, it’s impossible to squeeze the different requirements our divisions have of their “working environments” – among others we have design teams, seamstresses, marketing people etc. – into your typical office block.

Reinier de Graaf: The new building had to meet two central objectives: One, to facilitate interaction between the different divisions and two, to be spacious. Spacious in the sense of double-height rooms, plenty of visual links between them, and so on. If you consider the costs per square meter, the building, which extends across 27,500 square meters, is rather inexpensive. And if you look at the cubic meters of enclosed space, you will find that we have actually produced a building that is fantastically low in cost. This would not have been possible in downtown Amsterdam.

Adeline Seidel: When I drove past the building earlier I immediately thought it looked like a supersized advertising sign. Which is probably the desired effect in relation to the surroundings. What is the idea behind the architecture?

Pieter Kool: (laughs) It’s meant to be a machine for innovation!

Reiner de Graaf: The concept is actually rather simple: The “frame” made of black concrete houses the offices for those divisions that require a confidential setting, such as accounting etc.; while parking levels and other usage functions such as storage rooms embrace the creative zone. Contrary to the frame, the façade of the creative zone is made of glass. That’s the basic principle.

Adeline Seidel: Foyer and reception seem rather unpretentious. I would have expected a double-height space here.

Reinier de Graaf: Why? It’s a space destined to welcome employees and visitors, but no one, with the exception of the reception crew, spends their entire day here. Spaciousness should not be confused with extravagance. And G-Star RAW is a company that has kept its feet firmly on the ground.

Adeline Seidel: The floors are made of metal, the façade is made of glass – how did you succeed in keeping noise at bay in the open-plan offices of the creative zone and provide comfortable working conditions?

Reinier de Graaf: Everyone seems to think this has to be a noisy place to work. And indeed it was one of the key issues, which required a technical solution. This presents itself in the form of a suspended ceiling – as regards the design it was a real challenge to come up with a solution or a product we would gladly allow defining the building’s architecture. But let’s be honest: The suspended ceiling is a reality in modern buildings, and one you simply cannot escape, even if most people don’t like it. But the suspended ceiling is imperative for the majority of buildings of this size – think ventilation, acoustics, power supply. Quite apart from that this building is wonderfully generic: supports, ceiling joists, floors – all of them standard features in the Dutch construction industry. Added to which this building is perfectly rational – both the floor and the façade are based on a grid of 40 by 80 centimeters.

Adeline Seidel: How did this architecture informed by generous and open-plan offices impact on the collaboration between the divisions? What has changed exactly?

Pieter Kool: I hear from employees that they are getting fewer emails now. Which is a metaphorical way of saying that the interaction between the divisions has improved. And we definitely have to thank the architecture for it. Simply because employees get to see each other more often. We happen to bump into one another more frequently – and the building’s open-plan design. You see others going about their work and ask them how they are getting along. So there are a lot of chance encounters. Which is very inspiring.

Adeline Seidel: The ceilings have been fitted with strip lighting that extends through the building like a continuous seam of light. Conjuring associations of a factory.

Reinier de Graaf: The vitreous façade ensures the offices enjoy a lot of daylight. Added to which, these “lighting strips” have been sectioned into different zones that can be individually adjusted for brightness. Meaning that we can cater to a whole host of requirements.

Adeline Seidel: Sure, but on the other hand the workspaces have not been fitted with individual luminaires. I would sorely miss a personal desktop lamp as I prefer a bright personal working environment to aid my concentration – while the remainder of the room should rather be dark.

Pieter Kool: So far we have not had any requests like that.

Adeline Seidel: The building has a rather pleasant “blandness” about it, with greens, browns and grays dominating the interior. Nonetheless, would you not associate working creatively with bright and colorful work environments?

Reinier de Graf: We’ve thankfully managed to avoid that. I mean, what we do is still industrial labor, in a way, and therefore almost work. The fun factor, as I’ve seen it in various offices, mainly in the United States and particularly so in California, has something deeply oppressive about it. It’s supposed to accommodate a private life to make you feel at home at work; so they say it’s a way of bringing home to work. Strangely, I think the effect is reversed and it’s a way of bringing work to your home. It’s an infiltration of your private space by work. And that’s a very dubious pact between the two that I have always had my questions about. The more symbols I see around me supposed to put me at ease, the more I realize they are mere symbols intended to put me at ease, and the less at ease I feel.

Adeline Seidel: So architecture indeed plays a decisive role when it comes to fostering creativity?

Reinier de Graaf: Well, I mean, people meet in the built space, that too is a major debate in architecture. Is creativity ultimately the product of a carefully cultivated solitude? Or is creativity the product of two people meeting and interacting? I think it’s both. Having been involved in the creative sector for some time now, I feel it’s really about striking a balance between interaction and privacy; gaining impressions and then the possibility to retreat to develop your own version and hone it. And of course, space par excellence is the way where you organize that balance.

Adeline Seidel: Looking back at the project phase now, are there things you didn’t expect, things that have taken you by surprise?

Reinier de Graaf: If I walk around now, I’m really pleasantly surprised how many intimate spaces there are in the building; how many private moments there are. I had expected a bit more of a factory feel with a Panopticon quality to it, but it’s not like that at all. The workspaces certainly offer an overview of the whole building, but then there are other moments when you almost feel like you’re in a corner, even though you’re in the middle of this grand space.

Pieter Kool: One highlight in the new building is the “RAW Space”. It took a while for us as a company before we got a feel for the rooms and checked out all the possibilities and made the whole ensemble our own. We use the RAW Space for presentations, marketing and other events. Our employees keep coming up with ever new ideas of how to use this space. For our company it represents inspiration and freedom. In an “ordinary” office we would never have had a space like this. As for me personally, I like looking at the cars whizzing past on the interstate – it has a very meditative quality to it.