For the reorganization of the police in the North of the Netherlands, which clusters a number of services, cepezed, together with BoschSlabbers Landscape Architects and abtWassenaar, has made a design under the name 'the blue campus'. This appellation refers to the location of the police station on three islands on the outskirts of Drachten, but also to the space for greenery around the buildings, to the campus-like collaboration that the police aim for and, with a wink, to the police nickname.
For the new police location, cepezed is designing several new buildings and the large-scale renovation of the existing control room complex. The layout around the existing police buildings is rather stony, however each of the three islands will soon have green banks with broad reed beds, alders and willows. Unlike the existing parking lots, the new parking lots will be semi-paved and landscaped with trees and reed beds, allowing rainwater to seep slowly through the soil to the surface water, thus relieving the burden on the sewer system. In short, it will be a nature-inclusive are, pleasant for the employees of the police organization and good for biodiversity.
The buildings will have different functions, but similar facades, this way they clearly belong together even though there is water in between. A prominent dark plinth ties in with the existing incident room, featuring facades of lighter material above it. Due to the compact buildings, in places the bank can have a park-like width. Keeping the riverbanks open and concentrating the parking close to the buildings also creates a nice image from the other side of the water, where one of the access roads to Drachten runs.
What you may not see, but do immediately notice, is the way the functions have been (re)organized. Apart from the sustainability propositions, it was the efficient distribution of the buildings across the islands that made the design by cepezed and BoschSlabbers preferred. Efficiency is key for the new and renovated buildings: the new police location in Drachten will be beautiful, yet affordable. By cleverly shifting functions, existing buildings can be reused. By keeping floor areas open, layouts can adapt when the functions change in the future. By building with prefab elements and carefully detailing these elements, the shell and core are also the finishing.
Cepezed has experience with building for the police. Partly because of this, 'the blue campus' will be a pleasant place to work without making concessions to the safety that comes with police buildings. The buildings have a fixed structure, each with a attractive meeting area where wood has been applied to the interior and daylight enters in abundance. For all workplaces, the surrounding greenery and water contribute to the wellbeing of police employees; facades are transparent where the program allows.
Police expand sustainably with blue campus
