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Architects: Hollandse Nieuwe
- Area: 1400 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Ewout Huibers
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Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Chaos Group, PFLEIDERER, Abet Laminati, Adobe, Artimo, De Vorm, EGE, Forbo, Kvadrat, Lensvelt, Modulyss, Trimble
Text description provided by the architects. To be able to excel in their activities we created a mix of spaces to encourage collaboration, deep focus, (in)formal exchanges. The new Aidsfonds interior declares love with the inspiring rainbow gathering space. Aidsfonds is a special organization housed in a special building in Amsterdam. Located on the canal in the center of the city, employees of Aidsfonds have been making history for 25 years fighting against AIDS.
The decision to move from the heart of the city to Sloterdijk in the west, was received with mixed feelings by employees. While on some levels the current location would never be surpassed, there was a lot to be gained in the new ways in which they could potentially work together in the new location. Hollandse Nieuwe was selected as designers to work alongside Aidsfonds to help breathe new life into the interior of the new location. We achieved this by focusing on telling Aidsfonds own fascinating story throughout the space.
However, our first step was to learn. We took an internship at the Aidfonds office, we listened to their experiences, we sorted through their rich archive of the campaigns and we made new friends. Through various co-creation and brainstorming sessions, we arrived together on a number of principles for the new working environment: We celebrated Aidsfonds’ mission by applying a graphic translation of the campaign material across multiple surfaces. We created colourful spaces, where the colorful and enthusiastic Aidfonds employees can work and meet in suitably vibrant settings. A range of new functionalities have been introduced in their working environment to enable people to excel in their work and we have also created places where they can spend time with each other, where they can exchange ideas and celebrate life.
The color palette for the work environment and meeting rooms was determined together with Aidsfonds, through an extensive color study. Orange, soft pink, blue, and green areas zone the two floors rented by Aidsfonds in Quarter Avenue. The effect of these colours across different materials and surfaces gives each space a unique quality and richness. The choice of furniture, created in collaboration with Hans Lensvelt, plays a full role in the colorful environments and has resulted in special editions of the Maarten Baas collection.
A special project group had also been focused on selecting a series of images and campaign material from Aidsfonds’ entire history. These images run like a thread through the project and are recreated as thin line drawings that connect different moments of Aidsfonds’ timeline. And finally, every employee and every colour come together in their spectacular new living kitchen, where the largest rainbow in Amsterdam unfolds before you.
