The Place of Work

Abstract

In our graduation studio The Place of Work, we’re examining an office building designed by Jan Hoogstad in the center of The Hague. This office building was built in 1991 for the Ministry of VROM (Housing, Spatial planning and Environment) and has to be transformed to house the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment. This assignment has to be seen in light of the recent changes in government policy. As a result of large budget cuts the dutch government has implemented a number of measures to reduce its size and save costs. This new policy, that strives for a smaller governmental institution, is based on a flexible and multifunctional office that can facilitate any government institution at any time. The offices are developed without a user in mind: independent of individuals or organizations that will use them in the future. With my graduation project I have tried to provide an alternative to this method where the design of the office building does not start with quantifying but with characters of the various types of spaces you could provide to work in. An office building that is conceived as a collection of various different spaces and ways of working with different characters. My perception is that the government office building should take a stand in this debate and open up to the public by providing a place of work for both civil servants and the public and in this way represent the transparency of their institution. The former VROM-building will work as the perfect example as it already combines two ministries in one building – thus in need for common ground – and is located in the center of The Hague along its primary pedestrian route.