hofman dujardin architects: DLA piper office

the colour scheme is based on the movement of sunlight.

the office interior of dutch law firm DLA piper has been redesigned by hofman dujardin architects. the 10, 500m2 office is located in the rapidly developing business district ‘zuidas’ in amsterdam in the netherlands. DLA piper is the world’s largest law firm, with an amsterdam based office consisting of 130 fee earners and a total 250 employees. the office is divided in a front and back office. the entrance, coffee bar, restaurant, waiting area, boardroom and meeting centre are located in the front office on ground level, mezzanine level and 1st level. the back office is on 2nd and 3rd level, with its working rooms, sharing spaces, bar and library.

2nd level back office

unique to this design is the division of the building into two conceptual atmospheres. the first one consists of vivid colours matched with simple, white forms. while the second one uses softer colours and is made with natural materials such as wood helping to exude a quieter tone. the division establishes a clear distinction between the different programs and therefore offers diversity within the working environment of DLA piper.

the mezzanine level consists of open areas (waiting area and lobby) with a natural tone. this is contrasted with colourful closed areas (boardroom, video conference room and working room). the position of the boardroom and the lobby is changed in order to optimize its light conditions and visual connections with other parts of the building interior.

prior to the redesign of hofman dujardin, the boardroom was located only with its shorter side oriented to the exterior façade. the architects decided to rotate this room 90 degrees, so that now the long side of this room, with a total length of almost 17 meters, is fully parallel to the façade. this alteration led to a substantial enhancement of daylight conditions in that space.

meeting center 1st floor

meeting room

the diversity in colour, size and privacy gives each meeting room a different atmosphere, offering the client the possibility to choose his or her favorite surrounding.

the most excessive spatial changes made to the existing interior can be found at the corners of the building. not only were all closed rooms removed from here in order to gain more daylight and open up the space for the new working spots, they also create the common areas called ‘sharing spaces’. these parts of the building contain facilities such as internal meeting rooms, pantries, a small lounge area and restrooms.

meeting roomeach of these four corners of the building has a colour which is based on the movement of the sun. the warmer, sunny areas are compensated with blue and green, while the cooler, shaded areas have been enhanced with vivid colours like red and orange. due to the sun orientation, the warm colours are located on the north side of the building, and the cold colours are on the south side.

the colours slowly fade into each other. when one walks through the building this change creates an endless gradient throughout the entire floor: red becomes orange, orange becomes green, green becomes blue and blue turns back to red. this improves the orientation and creates a colourful routing through the building.

meeting room

the corridor and the closed rooms form the natural zone, while the open meeting rooms create the multicoloured, lively zone. the rooms have different colours, materials and sizes. this allows one to choose a meeting room with an atmosphere that is in accordance with the character of the meeting: big or small, informal or strictly private.