A fully circular office building
Fully circular and future-proof. This was the objective set by Radboudumc when it acquired part of the Sanquin building for more office space. Design Manager Furnishing & Design Iris Hobo called upon the services of Gispen. Together, Radboudumc and Gispen created a fully circular office environment, both for the present and the future.
Gispen was involved in this project from the outset. ‘Gispen clearly understood our vision - a circular office with a local theme - and brought great ideas to the table,’ Iris Hobo recalls. ‘Because they were involved from the very start of the project, we were able to monitor and further shape this vision.’ Account manager Sabine Gorter adds: ‘We set off by looking for furniture that suited the theme, working towards a perfectly-matched result.'
'We kept the theme close to the Nijmegen area: groynes along the Maas and Waal rivers. The interior design was to reflect a kind of river landscape,' Iris explains. 'Each office is basically a groyne along the river shore, with furniture to match. The corridors represent the rivers, and the carpet tiles slowly fade from blue into green. We photographed all kinds of bridges in the Nijmegen area and put up a picture of a different bridge in each office. It was important to us that the building forms a single entity.'
‘We had worked with Gispen before; to our great satisfaction,’ Iris explains. 'And we had run circular projects before, but never as comprehensive as this one. Gispen delved deep into our catacombs and found furniture and items we never knew existed. We had the furniture properly cleaned and had some items reupholstered. But that's about it. This is a precursor to how we will tackle other projects from now on. We have demonstrated that 100% circularity is possible.'
Iris: ‘The interior has obtained a high level of coherence, which is something everyone who comes here concurs with. Everything matches and flows nicely together. Circularity is sometimes perceived as something negative, as if it's all worn-out and second-hand stuff. This project proves the opposite. The director of Radboudumc made a visit the other day, and thought the entire interior was brand-new. That's the best compliment we could have received.'
Photography: Studio De Zwarte Kater
'Radboudumc's main question: how can we make the interior of our building fully circular? And more specifically: how do we tie everything together? We started by sourcing and combining furniture from different departments. The one two years old, the other five; looking out for colour differences, of course. Various pieces of furniture were mixed and matched for a unified look. What we lacked, we supplemented with furniture from our Circular Hub. In the end, we only had to buy a very limited number of furniture items and accessories. Some clocks and acoustic panels, for example. 95 per cent of what you see is from Radboudumc's own storage rooms and basements.'
'Gispen provides input from the very start of the project. That's where the added value lies. Always sharing their expertise.'
'We teamed up with interior designer Annette Mosk from Gispen. This was a very good match. She shows great affinity and has lots of experience when it comes to circular projects. She also thoroughly enjoyed putting the right piece of furniture in the right place which, naturally, can only lead to a stunning result.
This project demanded a lot from both the Gispen team and our own team. You invest a lot of time in looking for the right things and how to incorporate them best. This requires vision. As partners, Gispen greatly supported us in this process. We can be more than proud of the end result. The response we receive from the teams working there has been very positive.'
Realise your circular ambitions with Gispen. We will be happy to offer advice.
Contact usClever implementation and reuse of current furniture within a new interior is a growing trend.
We use different tools and adopt various methods to identify which activities and processes are needed within an organisation.
We refurbish both Gispen products and products from other manufacturers. When this process is finished, these products are given a REVIVED label.
