RAU Architects and Ex Interiors have completed an office building for Triodos Bank in the Netherlands featuring curving glazed facades and a timber structure that can be taken apart and remounted.
The Triodos Bank office building was designed by Amsterdam-based RAU Architects for a site on the De Reehorst country estate near Zeist.
Above: Triodos Bank is nestled in Dutch woodland. Top image: it has curving glazed facades
The building was constructed using laminated timber, cross-laminated timber and unprocessed timber components that are joined together using screws, meaning they can be unscrewed and reused.
According to RAU Architects, the innovative timber-framed office is "the first large-scale 100 per cent wooden, remountable office building." It is the latest example of the trend towards reversible design, which allows building materials to be reused in line with the principles of the circular economy.
Other examples include the egg-shaped timber Tij Observatory for birdwatchers by RAU Architects and Ro&Ad Architects and the temporary People's Pavilion by Bureau SLA and Overtreders W.
It comprises three linked towers
"By making real estate 'loose goods', a building with maximum circular potential has been realised: remountability without loss of value," the firm claimed.
The project brief for the Triodos Bank office called for a welcoming, sustainable building.
Glass walls maximise daylight inside
The resulting office has an organic form that cu...