War Child – Amsterdam Headquarters
Eckhardt en Leeuwenstein Architecten and New Purpose have collaborated on a new, ‘low budget’ office design for humanitarian organization War Child’s headquarters in Amsterdam.
After offices at Het Singel and a church in De Pijp, War Child decided last year that is was time to move to new, more mature premises in the Amsterdam borough of Watergraafsmeer.
The challenge was to transform relatively boring office space, situated above a supermarket and a gym, into recognizable and representative War Child offices. Also, it needed to be done on a shoestring budget, since War Child aims to spend as much of their income as possible on the core business: projects for children in many countries.
The recently finished offices were designed with comprehensive and up to date knowledge of office design in mind. The light and airy space (1.200m2) accommodates seventy-five flexible workstations. The space has been divided into different work zones, offering both busy and more private spaces. Four meeting rooms and several smaller rooms are outfitted for multi-purpose use; meetings, printing, reading, telephoning privately or working in silence. This set up was designed to structure and personalize the open plan space. There is also a meditation space available for employees.
The eye catcher of the new surroundings is the coloured second hand furniture. In stead of drywall there were used vintage cabinets, chairs and tables to separate the different spaces. The furniture was bought cheaply from thrift stores, at auction and through the Internet. In order to create unity, a special synthetic colour spray was used, covered with a top coat finish.
The pictures on the special photo wall were sourced from the War Child archives and printed on acoustic material. There is also a “Walk of Fame”, an honorary gallery which exhibits checks regularly received by the organization from benefactors such as schools, companies and other organizations.
Architecture: Eckhardt en Leeuwenstein Architecten
Partners: New Purpose, Branding Office Furniture and Sjrivasta
Photography: Evelyn Sanders
