Projects -

Van der Zwan&Zn.

Hellingweg 5
Scheveningen, The Hague

2006-2009

Programme
Company premises, office, restaurant/canteen with meeting and lunch areas, and a commercial space with inspection room and warehouse.
Ca. 2,000 m² gfa

Client
W. van der Zwan & Zn bv

Awards
BNA Buidling of the year 2010 - Region Delta

Following a fire in 2006, the client was keen to build new premises on the site where the family-owned fishing company has stood since 1888 – on a spit of land in Scheveningen harbour, surrounded on three sides by water. Given this unique location, a building with a 360 degree panorama was the obvious choice. The building contains the company office with conference facilities, a space where fish can be inspected and a storage space for ship’s parts.

Because the spit of land on which the building stands is part of the primary breakwater, a pile foundation was out of the question. Instead, eight V-shaped columns are used to reduce the loadbearing structure to two foundation tunnels. The company’s image and the location both called for a certain robustness, which finds expression in the concrete base. Above this, by way of contrast, is a fragile glass box that is set slightly forward of the concrete base, giving anyone on the western balcony the impression of standing on the bridge of a ship.