The company’s marketing vision was clearly broader and more intense than average. The look and feel of the new premises had to be aligned with this vision. It did not take long before the functional and hygienic demands and departure points in the programme of requirements were supplemented by the desire to design a building in the shape of a seaworthy ship: an unmistakeable reference to the company’s Rotterdam roots. Fundamental to the design is a ship lying at anchor in an inner harbour with the quay to the right and a container terminal to the left. This perspective has been fully maintained from concept through to the detail of final execution. The container image is reinforced by the various levels required to house the wide range of functions for which the building was designed. The building consists of two storeys and a ‘cabin wheelhouse’ that functions as a representative reception area. There are four distinct zones on the ground floor; the factory for fresh fish and related products, the incoming and outgoing forwarding and commodities facility, the store itself and the stand-alone freezer facility. After intensive customer research, it was decided to relocate the store to a new site in the Rotterdam suburbs. The 400 m2 administrative office is located on two storeys at the heart of the building. This part of the building is the process hub and is positioned as such in the site map. Daylight enters the building from the roof through two large conservatories and the offices are equipped with complete walls of glass to optimise the impact of the daylight hours. The quay is located in front of the store and can be used for customer and guest parking. An external floor has been technically made as a table to facilitate the construction of a deep pond in the vicinity. This deck opens onto the Galateestraat. The municipality has fully redesigned the neighbouring streets. Employees enter the building from the Thurledeweg side and have their own parking facilities and bicycle stalls. An ascending ramp facilitates access to the staff entrance and forms the quay to the south side of the A20 side of the building. The logistical flows of staff, guests and customers are designed to ensure that nobody can enter the factory without passing through the hygiene sluice. After entering, staff proceed upstairs to the first floor where the canteen, changing rooms and executive offices are located. After pulling on the appropriate work gear – which is ready-to-wear after being washed every day at the in-house company laundry – employees pass through the main sluice at the heart of the building and take the sluice stairs to the factory floor. The building as a whole is a prefab concrete structure with a steel roof. Due to the enormous temperature differences – continuously at minus 25 degrees Celsius – the freezer facility stands alone as well as the ascending main steel main structure. The freezer facility ’shrinks’ from the main building.