Amsteldok, Amsterdam

Located along the banks of the Amstel river stands the 19,000 sq m building, now named Amsteldok, which dates from 1973. Designed by architect Hugh Maaskant, at the time is was Europe’s largest office building. Nicknamed the ‘monkey mountain’ for its large staggered blocks of concrete. The careful renovation of this building gives office floors maximum heights, with large open floorplates allowing for creative flexibility now and in the years to come. The floor to ceiling glass façade allows natural light to illuminate the inside of this building, green roof terraces (at various heights) encourage creativity and the flexibility of the space allows collaboration where teams can be seamlessly connected. The landscape of WPP and its operating companies is ever changing, the working environment should be adaptable to change also so flexibility has been inherently built into the design to allow for growth, shrinkage, mergers etc. The new feature staircase takes clients immediately from reception up to the shared business hub on level 1. Other shared facilities include cafes, restaurants and bars designed into the project to increase staff wellbeing as well as encouraging movement through the building and creating opportunities for chance encounters. Located on the ninth floor stands a 352sqm roof terrace offering incredible views over the Amstel river and the city. Aimed to inject a lease of life into the building, a roof terrace bar will add further energy into the space. The surrounding neighbourhood, predominantly a residential area has been reinvigorated by the occupation of this large building - there is a new buzz to the locale.