HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch have inserted a steel frame into the expansive production hall of an old nylon factory in Arnhem to create the KB Building offices.
The office is housed within one of several 1940s factories on a 90-hectare chemical-industry plant in the Netherlands, which local developer Schipper Bosch is transforming into a campus for clean energy companies.
KB Building's steel frame slots into an old, concrete nylon factory
HofmanDujardin and Schipper Bosch's goal for the concrete nylon factory was to add extra floor space to its giant production hall while preserving its spacious and "great cathedral-like qualities".
They achieved this by inserting a minimal and light-weight steel frame within the factory's original concrete columns, which introduces three levels of office space. Two of the new floors supported by the steel frame
"With its tall columns and high windows which flood the space in daylight, the empty space showed great cathedral-like qualities," said Michiel Hofman, architect and founder of HofmanDujardin
"An additional asset was the textured greys of the existing concrete, which revealed an intrinsic beauty. All additions are designed to retain these qualities and carefully build upon them," he told Dezeen.
Bleacher-style seating space in the basement
The former large production hall, which is now the main office space of the KB Building, is elevated on the building's first floor.
Below is the factory's ground...