On the outskirts of Drachten, a number of police facilities are clustered on three islands. cepezed designed the new development, which, although differing in size and shape, clearly belongs to an architectural family. The most striking aspect of the plan is the way the buildings, parking spaces and bridges are embedded in the greenery. We therefore worked closely with BoschSlabbers landscape architects.
landscape is leading
The A7-Noord industrial estate in Drachten already includes a 112 emergency room. This complex will be extended with all kinds of police functions in four new buildings and transformed existing buildings. Because of the special location on the islands, cepezed and the landscape architects of BoschSlabbers are working on the design in an almost integrated way. The landscape is leading in this, which is clever considering the many traffic movements. The entrances are attractively situated and, for instance, 'extended' with a deck on the riverbank. The necessity of the new building is linked to the reorganisation of Police North Netherlands.
architectural family
The structure with islands is a given and is part of the design of this business park. The campus feeling is created by the park-like layout, in which the buildings with their dark, horizontally articulated bases under a silvery, open and vertically articulated upper section form an architectural family. By assuming an efficient building package, it is possible to keep the architecture uniform and accommodate for all special functions cost-efficiently. However, each building does have a special area, such as a patio, or a pleasant connecting zone with skylights and wooden roof beams. In order to prevent the functional and purposeful from taking over, we pay a lot of attention to details.
relax outdoors
The landscape plan is modelled on the long lines across the water, characteristic of Friesland. Riverbanks will have reed vegetation - these green borders are also characteristic. A wadi-like slope favours the ecological development of the banks. Parking areas will be semi-paved and grooves for water retention will be created between parking strips, in fact a kind of wadis. The buildings will not be right next to the water, so that the natural shores will be as wide as possible and there will be enough space to reside. Bridges will be as elegant as possible, to sustain the idea of an island. The design process is advancing so well that we are several months ahead of schedule.
→ go to the project page
reorganisation results in green-blue campus for police
