Projects -

Ministry of Finance

For the government, the renovation of the Ministry of Finance building was a pilot project for a new form of tendering in which design, building, financing, maintenance and operation remain in the hands of a single party. The DBFMO contract, whereby a consortium took responsibility for all five aspects, turned out to be fifteen per cent cheaper than a traditional tender.

The main reason for renovating the 1975 brutalist ministry building was that it no longer complied with contemporary standards of comfort and energy efficiency and the desire to make the building more transparent.

The ministry currently houses 1850 employees, 400 more than before the renovation. Above two underground levels containing a car park and sporting facilities are five floors with offices, conference rooms, a library and a restaurant. A winter garden on the corner of Korte Voorhout has given the building a recognizable public face, while the inviting central entrance and transparent elevations give the ministry an open character. The larger of the two internal gardens is open to the public with the result that the building is now more a part of the city than in the past.

By roofing over the second garden, an atrium was created in the heart of the building. On the lowest level, close to the main entrance, is the conference centre. Above it is the garden, planted with tamarind trees and orchids. On the upper floors the office wings are interspersed with palm gardens.
Features like the atrium, but also the use of thermal energy storage in combination with a climatic ceiling and the new double skin façade have turned the old ministry into a very energy efficient new and modern office building.