cepezed designs police housing and 112 control room apeldoorn

cepezed and cepezedinterior won the tendering procedure for the new housing of the police and 112 control room in Apeldoorn. Out of five sketch designs, the selection committee preferred that of cepezed, among other things because of the careful urban planning, which was considered powerful and convincingly in balance.

The 21 regional control rooms in the Netherlands have been merged into one Landelijke Meldkamer Samenwerking (LMS, National Emergency Response Cooperation) with ten locations. The new building will be one of these and replace the existing 112 control rooms of Netherlands East, Twente, Gelderland-Zuid and Midden-Gelderland. Police, fire brigade and ambulance services will cooperate in it.

The cepezed-design consists of two elongated volumes, one of which is stacked transversely on top of the head of the other. This head is designed as a fully glazed cap that functions as an entrance and connecting zone between the two building parts and includes an atrium and meeting places. The ensemble lands on a green, gently ascending embankment in which the lower block is partly submerged. The stacked volume impressively cantilevers. At both ends, is has fully transparent facades that refer to the ‘watchful eye’ of the users. The cladding of the closed façade parts has a warm appearance fitting the environment.

The large control room in the lower block is spanned in one go. The stacked structure with office and meeting facilities is also column-free and therefore optimally flexible in layout and use. In addition, a lot of attention is paid to a healthy working environment with, among other things, generous daylight, green elements, good control of temperature and air quality, pleasant acoustics and a natural, emission-free use of materials. The interior is equipped with warm, earthly materials with, among other things, graphic accents based on the contemporary ICT techniques used in the building.

In close cooperation with all people involved, cepezed is currently working hard on the further elaboration of the plans; the building as depicted is a sketch, not the completed and approved final design. The start of the construction is planned for mid-2020, the commissioning for Spring 2022. IMd is involved as stability consultant, Nelissen Ingenieursbureau consults on MEP and building physics.