MVRDV completes “Salt” creative office building in Amsterdam

MVRDV was commissioned to design the “Salt” office block in Amsterdam in response to the chronic shortage of creative spaces for small- and mid-size businesses in the area. Located in the redeveloping Minervahaven neighborhood, the newly completed 3,700m2 building has five levels of flexible office spaces, each with their own unique identity, and plenty of large windows that show off views of the surrounding waterfront.

Salt is “a 30m x 30m x 20m cube-shaped building with distinct concrete frames stacked on top of each other. The concrete frames house a variety of different windows permeating the façade to keep the individuality of each 5m x 4m unit,” MVRDV describes.

The full-height lobby space features a grand, cascading staircase that vertically connects the building's five levels.

“Windows are arranged in a random order so that the building's distinct glass and concrete façade offers a different view depending on what side it is approached from.”

The interior includes loft-like, roughly finished office spaces with no hung ceilings, exposed concrete, aluminum, and steel, and flexible floor plans.

The building is topped by a solar roof and car parking is located inside the plinth. The southern facade includes a private roof garden for social gatherings.

Project credits

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Year: 2017+
Client: NIC Building Ambitions
Program: 3,700 m2 offices and parking
Architect: MVRDV, Principal in Charge: Jacob van Rijs
Design Team: Gijs Rikkenwith Guido Boeters, Arjen Ketting, Ivo Hoppers and Victor Perez Equiluz
Copyright: MVRDV 2018 – (Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries)

Partners

Project managers: Firmus Vastgoed and Bulters & Bulters
Contractor: Barten Groep
Structural Engineer: Ikaabee
MEP Engineer: Denned
MEP advisor: Hamel Regeltechniek
Images: DPI.nl