The start of the construction of the new campus building in Almere is getting closer. The interior concept for the building is also ready. The most striking place of the new building will be the auditorium.
The first pole of the new campus building in the heart of Almere will be put in the ground this summer, Windesheim wants to open it in 2027. The new interior concept clearly shows how the Windesheim building seeks connection with the city and its users. New impression drawings show more of the interior. The ground floors of the building on the Esplanade, the walking promenade adjacent to the building, form a lively plinth with lots of glass and an open appearance towards the city and the people of Almere.
The building will have an inviting entrance area, which leads to the main entrance and to a wide passageway through which pedestrians can walk straight through the building.
Next to the main entrance there will be a campus restaurant and a coffee corner with an outdoor terrace, which will also be open to the people of Almere.
Representative At the bottom of the building are more places that want to strengthen the connection with the city. First of all, the large glass auditorium, an eye-catcher located on the entrance area, where 250 visitors can take a seat.
Maarten de Vries, team leader ‘huisvesting & vastgoed’ (housing & real estate) and project leader of the new campus building, concluded the interior concept after consultation with the unit participation council of Windesheim Almere. “In my opinion, the auditorium will be one of the most representative places in the building. The auditorium is prominently located on the sunny side along the promenade, with large windows all the way to the sidewalk. From the lecture benches you have a beautiful view of the promenade, the city beach and the Weerwater. And passers-by can catch a glimpse of a lecture or presentation in the hall.”
Exhibition space
The auditorium seats rise to the first floor. This floor at the back of the building is located at city level. This is where the exhibition space can be found, a large multifunctional room for internal and external use, where exhibitions, workshops and presentations can take place. This space is also intended to show what Windesheim does and has to offer. Input from the city is explicitly welcomed here.
The second and third floors will house service departments and general education spaces. The caterer will have a second large catering facility there: a grand café with a large roof terrace, which is intended for internal use.
The Windesheim Almere study programmes will mainly be housed from the fourth floor and up.
Wayfinding
For the users, students and employees, the interior plan wants to radiate openness and clarity, somewhat comparable to the X-building in Zwolle. Architect BDG has designed an easily recognizable routing based on the principle of ‘intuitive wayfinding’, says De Vries. The heart of the building will be a high atrium. Visitors go up via green escalators and winding stairs.
The layout of the educational floors is divided according to activity: around the atrium are the zones where somewhat more noisy activities can take place, such as the pantries and meeting places. In the study landscapes there is a range from action to quiet: the large lively study areas are located more in the center and the smaller study areas more towards the facade. The quietest educational zones and the offices are located along the facade.
Habitat
Another starting point for the interior architect was a list of keywords typical for Windesheim Almere, from which the ‘biotope’ for the interior design was designed. Plants and a green appearance determine the atmosphere. Muted earth tones, natural materials and wooden finishes are central to the decoration of floors, walls and ceilings.
Within this biotope the eight educational clusters each have their own ‘habitat’ where they feel at home: the habitat is somewhat more colorful for the health study programmes, somewhat more businesslike for the management courses and somewhat more natural for ICT and Technology.
The spaces directly along the atrium will show the identity of the programme cluster that is located there, through their specific own colors and use of materials.
Which study programmes exactly will be located where on the floors has not yet been definitively decided, according to De Vries. But all courses will have their own central place within the open study landscape, with a design that conveys their own identity. Room dividers also help to make those different zones recognizable.
Circularity
In terms of furniture, Windesheim has made a notable choice for circularity: no less than eighty percent of the furniture that will become available after departing the current locations in The Landdrost and The Circus will be reused in the new building.
De Vries expects that all permits will be in place this summer: “The first pole will be put in the ground before or after the holidays.”
Netwerk congestion
A concern is the construction of the electricity supply at the location, due to the ‘network congestion’ that has been occurring everywhere in the Netherlands in recent years. De Vries is hopeful that solutions will be found in time. “During the construction period, the municipality allows us to use an existing connection for special events on the Esplanade. And we are now investigating what we can do in case of possible undercapacity after the opening of the building, such as sharing electricity with other companies and institutions.”
Text: Ernest Mettes
Illustrations: BDG Architecten
