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Architects: AReS Architecten
- Area: 2158 m²
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Thea van den Heuvel
Text description provided by the architects. On a prominent location on the outskirts of Apeldoorn we have designed a sturdy-looking business property for Futurumshop, a successful online sports retailer.
The building has some remarkable features. These include a huge glass facade across the full length of the building, the height of the building, the custom-made front panels, and also a wall consisting of 12 maritime containers. This wall acts as both a partition between the warehouse and the offices, and the general and technical services zone which includes a pantry, toilets, storage space and a conference room.
The symbolism of the maritime containers has of course everything to do with the type of company we were dealing with: a webshop receives and dispatches thousands of products every day. A maritime container is a symbol of world trade and the ‘ultimate box’ in which to dispatch products.
The measurements of these ‘high cube containers’ serve as starting point for the design of the remainder of the building. This leads to several eye-catching characteristics. For example, the storey height has been adjusted and the lowered ceilings have been left out. This way, all constructions, raw materials and installations have remained visible.
The colourful container wall is equipped with logos and names of suppliers which gives the hall a special appearance. This is emphasised by the use of steel staircases and elevated bridges which connect the nine metres high container wall with the offices. This way, the large open space between these two areas keeps an open character and also offers a view across the full length of the building. This is even more emphasised by the glass doors and walls through which you are connected from the various rooms with the rest of the building. From the staff facilities, for example, you have a view of the hall, the warehouse and the cargo area.
Remarkable is the fact that one container has a wall that is completely made of glass and that all the other containers ‘only’ have a glass door. By using just one colour for both the inside and the outside and because of the glass wall, this container, which is used as a conference room, has been named ‘Fish bowl’ during construction work.
Special detail is the use of matte foil on all inner glass doors that carry the names of the owner’s family members.
Characteristic of the building is its sturdiness which is brought about by specially shaped metal panels. This gives the outside of the building a remarkable appearance, especially on an industrial estate. Inside, this sturdiness is even more emphasised by the use of raw materials and the visibility of pipes and constructions.
