HofmanDujardin was part of the design team, which was selected to lead the modernization of two existing high-rise buildings for the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS) and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW). The renovation of the combined building of Helicon and Castalia (known as "residents") is part of a strategy to reduce the size of the Dutch government and transition to new ways of working. HofmanDujardin worked with cepezed (atrium) and Antea Group (installation, structural engineering and fire safety).
The original resident office was designed in the 1990s by American architect Michael Graves and Dutch architect Sjoder Sutters. Both architects are known for their postmodernist designs. Sjoerd Soeters found Helicon inspiration in Manhattan, New York and The Hague itself. The horizontal white line is an important element of many neighborhoods in The Hague. When designing the facade of Castalia, Michael Graves was inspired by traditional Dutch canal houses. In the new design, the two buildings are connected by a bright and transparent atrium designed by cepezed. From here, you can enter the two departments or the small vibrant cafe on the ground floor of the Castalia building.
The combined building "De Resident" has a total of 55.000 square meters of office floors. The Castalia building is 104 m high and has 20 floors. This is the home of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS). The Helicon building has three towers, each of which is 15 stories high. The building houses the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW). The building can be accessed on the ground floor through a new atrium connecting the two buildings.
New stairs, bridges and voids allow people to enter the lower five floors, where more public functions of the two ministries are located. On these floors, you can find a variety of meeting areas, work areas, restaurants, and learning and development centers. The fifth floors of Helicon and Castalia are dedicated to the offices of the minister and his staff. This is the more formal part of the building. The highest floor of Castalia is reserved as a shared conference center with a magnificent view of The Hague. The regular office floors are located between the 6th and 20th floors. There is a "living room" near the entrance to the office floor where employees can meet and work informally. When continuing to the floor, various workplaces can be found, such as open and closed desk spaces, comfortable lounge workplaces and bicycle tables.
During the design process, Hofman Dujardin noticed the striking similarities between the existing interior of Castalia and the famous Dutch art and architecture. The ceiling of the large cafe is strongly reminiscent of the illuminated ceiling Berlage designed for the Haags Gemeente Museum. The floor is similar to that drawn by Vermeer and De Hooch. References to Dutch masters can also be recognized at the entrance. Graves seems to be inspired by Berlage's vaulted ceiling design. The floor refers to another painting by Vermeer.
On the ceiling of the escalator hall, you can see the ceiling of Hunting Lodge St. Hubertus designed by Berlage. In addition, the lighting used is very similar to Berlage's original design. Inspired by Graves' expansion of Dutch classics, HofmanDujardin continues to use this concept, bringing color and personality into interior design.
With the theme of "health and leisure", more than 30 paintings were selected for the VWS department in Castalia and the office of the SZW department in Helicon with the theme of "work". Each of these paintings has been enlarged to the size of the floor plan and divided into a grid of 50x50 cm floor tiles. To match the rich colors in the original masterpiece, HofmanDujardin worked with carpet suppliers to develop 70 additional colors. The result is 30 amazing colorful floor patterns, giving each floor a unique and personalized atmosphere.
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