Anthura Headquarters
Anthura Headquarters
Anthura Headquarters
“Identity” for an international market leader in horticulture
A design that tells Anthura's story
The greenhouse area around Bleiswijk is home to the head office, greenhouses and R&D department of Anthura, a market leader in the breeding of anthuriums and orchids. To do this, the company uses a state-of-the-art greenhouse complex and opened a new research center in 2019. However, the office building was very outdated, and the outdoor area also offered a cluttered and unattractive appearance. The new head office, designed by Atelier PRO, not only provides an improved appearance, but also shows what Anthura is: an international player with an innovative, high-tech character.
Reuse as a basis for an innovative office concept
The focus was on a “renovation” in which atelier PRO kept and reused the floors and metal construction of the existing office, and made a new design for the façade and interior. The question was not only to create new workspaces, but also to create a place where the company can receive customers and show what Anthura is and does. The office is therefore both literally and figuratively connected to the technical “inner world” of the greenhouses - and in particular to the show greenhouse that lies directly behind the office. Before the renovation, the façade of this show greenhouse was completely closed on the street side; atelier PRO replaced it with a fully transparent glass wall, so that the lab-like interior of the show greenhouse is now clearly visible and serves as a 'backdrop' for the office building.
A small-scale building with the look of a large head office
The office has the same transparent, campus-like appearance, emphasizing the relationship with the laboratories and greenhouses. The challenge was how we were able to bridge the scale difference between the greenhouse complex - with an area of 450,000 m² - and the office building - which is approximately 2,000 m² in total - in such a way that the office got more emphasis. To give the office building more 'volume', it has been placed on a slightly raised base, which visually separates it from the continuous glass greenhouse behind it. The vertical façade elements also make the building visually larger, partly because the floors can no longer be read directly. This gives the small-scale building the appearance of a large head office, in line with the globally operating company that is Anthura. The verticality also reflects that of the greenhouse architecture - a horizontally articulated building would not be a good fit here.
The interior as a carrier of Anthura's identity
In the interior, the building is characterized by two “layers of experience”. On the one hand, there is the exhibition layer, a series of spaces with a reception function in which the customer is led through the building to the show greenhouse. This involved working with a graphic designer and an exhibition designer to create a real exhibition environment. The staff has their own layer, around the canteen in the core of the building. In the middle of the office, there is a facility zone with functions that do not require daylight; around it, everything has been left open as much as possible, and flexible workplaces alternate with concentration areas. Here, too, an atmosphere was sought that conveys Anthura's identity, with warm tones, lots of greenery, and perennials and alternating plants as part of the interior. In addition, a “graphic layer” has been added throughout the building, which reflects the character of the company - and also includes signage in the outdoor area.
Between the office and greenhouse is a private garden, designed by Oasis Landscape and Urban Planning; based on atelier PRO's zoning plan, they provided an integral development, translating the atmosphere of the tropical indoor plants to the Dutch outside world.
'Between the greenhouses': designing in an area without design
Anthura shows how a building can act as an identity carrier, but is also interesting in a broader sense. Greenhouse areas are located spatially and emotionally somewhere between city and country. There are a lot of buildings, but the welfare rules do not apply; buildings here often arise more or less “by themselves”, without being designed. With this design, atelier PRO wants to question what is typical of the greenhouse environment, what is the city and what is countryside. But also what the future holds for the Dutch landscape: the project shows that, even where things “come into being”, it is still possible to shape the environment.
