Fontys Tilburg: building P8

On behalf of Gispen, Claartje ten Have of Studio Moj joined in on the project and further defined the interior design in terms of colour schemes, materials and products. Claartje: “Both institutes had very specific wishes. The Academy for Creative Industries opted for a single colour scheme: lots of blue and yellow and pink as an accent colour. The way these colours are applied is different for each type of space and activity. Colours have been applied more radically at the Factory, for example, which is a dynamic space with groups of students working on projects who walk in and out continuously. The space is surrounded by more tranquil areas, which have a more subtle colour scheme.”

The ICT course uses so-called OILs: Open ICT Labs. No less than five of them, which all feature an open instruction area, a state-of-the-art lab, conference rooms and workstations. Claartje: “We deliberately gave each OIL its own distinctive atmosphere. The Video Lab, for example, has a technical-looking design with a colour scheme of black/white/grey and orange accents. At the Domotica Lab, you can see Super Mario running across the walls, while at the Technology Lab you are greeted by a Martian landscape. The Make Lab has a more traditional look due to the many wooden accents and, lastly, there is the Security Lab with lots of dark blue and purple. The users have clearly been able to make their mark here.”

Gispen furnished the entire building: supplying all the separate furniture pieces, building the interior elements, putting large visuals on the walls, installing whiteboards as well as carpeting and lighting. Maarten Houdijk, Gispen account manager: “We reused existing furniture wherever possible, such as the Scrum tables. In addition, we provided lots of custom solution, from wooden stands to wall-mounted desks and from planters to pantries.” The Gispen TEAM table is well-represented with a special Desktop tabletop (linoleum layer) in round, square, straight and barrel-shaped versions. Paired with different models of the Nomi chair, with handy removable fabric covers. Maarten: “We installed quite a few metres worth of MultiLounge, the lounge workspace for quiet meetings due to a high backrest. Besides furniture from our own collection, we also supplied products from other A-brands, such as stools by Hay and chairs by Muuto. What I like so much about P8 is that it’s not your average educational environment in terms of interior design.”