Combining used, refurbished and new furniture
The company restaurant used to be cloaked entirely in red, from the walls and ceilings up to and including the furniture. It needed a warmer and lighter colour scheme as well as more natural materials (biophilic design). Wendy: ‘The users requested a modern coffee bar and a “La Place feel.” We also wanted more variety in seating, with both low and high seating solutions.’ The final result is warm and relaxing with many shades of green and lots of plants. The much-desired coffee bar with its very own barista is the centre piece of the restaurant. New eye-catchers include designer tables by Arco and chairs by Muuto. Vintage furniture pieces have also made their way into the interior, such as Chesterfield sofas. Gispen also went through all the furniture that was already present on site. Ingrid de Haan, Gispen account manager adds: ‘Some of the furniture could be put to use straight away, while other pieces required refurbishment at our Circular Hub in Veghel, such as a number of Barcelona Chairs that had been in the client's storage room for some time. We went through all the technical functions and reconditioned the leather. We also fitted new frames to the butterfly chairs from the restaurant and reupholstered them in shades of green, replacing the red fabric.’
Comfortable and hybrid meetings
The conference rooms at the Orangerie and Brainstorm Valley facilitate comfortable meetings and creative brainstorming sessions. The conference rooms are furnished with large conference tables by Arco. Brainstorm Valley is mainly equipped with refurbished furniture, including more butterfly chairs. In addition to a high level of sustainability and a great variety in furniture, an important starting point for the new interior was to support hybrid working. This is reflected throughout the interior: there are large monitors on the walls of the rooms in Brainstorm Valley. Coach seats provide privacy to employees who want to take a video call. There are even dedicated video call booths at the Orangerie.
An interim solution
Ingrid de Haan, Gispen account manager: ‘In total, we supplied around 430 products, of which 187 were refurbished at our Circular Hub. From the Barcelona Chairs and butterfly chairs to conference tables and benches. Once the final furniture lists had been compiled, our project manager set out to ensure a timely delivery. Due to delays in construction, however, we had to come up with an interim solution. The furniture therefore spent some time in storage at the moving company. In the end, everything was delivered in phases in close consultation with FMHaaglanden and the moving company.'
What do you think of the result?
Wendy: ‘The users are very enthusiastic! And it shows, because both the company restaurant and the conference rooms are always full from early in the morning until later in the afternoon. The coffee bar is also a popular place and feels like you're actually out of the office. The new atmosphere is pleasant and everyone likes the new look with its softer shades of colour. In addition to sustainable furniture, sustainable materials have also been applied to other areas of the interior such as wicker ceilings and rose petals on the walls at Brainstorm Valley. Everything has come together nicely.'
