KeenSystems HQ, Hi-Tech chararcter in inspiring evironment

KeenSystems headquarters is situated along the ring road around the village of Gemert. The decision to not establish their new office building for their rapidly expanding hi-tech company in the city of Eindhoven comes from the desire to operate from a very much green and inspiring environment. The technology developed by KeenSystems does not necessarily needs a physical relation with a city or a high-tech campus. The software is developed, tested and maintained from Gemert. The hardware is located in Amsterdam on top of world’s most relevant internet hubs. The noise barrier that follows the ring road and protects the residential area behind it from the traffic noise is continued and completed. In this way we aspire to strengthen the present green character of the area. The noise barrier ends at the main access road for the residential area. There the office is placed on top of the noise barrier. The main entrance is also located there and can be reached by a path that winds up over the noise barrier. The building consists of three levels. One level is inserted in the noise barrier and two stories lay on top of the noise barrier. Each level has its own function which can be read both in the interior as well as the exterior. - The ground floor is sunken in the noise barrier. The program at this level is supportive to the office function. For example, building services systems and storage facilities are accommodated here. In addition, a communal relaxation area has been created underneath the cantilever. Here, employees can play games and relax together away from work. - The first floor, the largest rectangular volume, accommodates all operational disciplines from development to sales. Both employees and visitors enter the building here. The volume is oriented in such a way that the longitudinal facades focus on two of the exceptional qualities of the location. The pond in the northwest and the historic so-called spherical farmland, Bolle Akker in Dutch, in the southeast. - The second floor, a smaller box, is made of mirrored glass and rotated in relation to the first floor. At this level it is all about meeting. Here is the conference room and the canteen with adjacent outdoor space in the middle of the grass roof. Both the structure and application of materials are intended to emphasise the Hi-Tech character of KeenSystems. The volume laying on top of the sound barrier is characterized by a steel spaceframe in the facades which allow the volume to cantilever dramatically. The copper-coloured anodized aluminium and the mirrored glass are detailed and constructed with surgical precision. All areas in building can be heated and cooled both through fluid floor and air systems. The longitudinal facades are facing south and north. Therefore the heat and cooling loads in the adjacent rooms varies based on their location in the building. The climate control system is able to exchange natural heating and cooling between the various rooms. For example, rooms on the north side can benefit from the heating of spaces on the south side and vice versa.