GROUP A has recently completed the offices for BP Rotterdam Refinery [BP RR], realised according to the Design & Build principles. End of May, the BP RR organisation has moved into this unique design.

As youngest and largest oil refinery in The Netherlands, BP RR exposes a powerful dynamism which is reflected in the new offices, situated safely in close proximity to the oil refinery. It was the aim of GROUP A to design a building that expresses and accommodates the objectives of the company, including providing a sustainable, safe and healthy working environment for the dedicated staff.

BP Rotterdam Refinery, image courtesy GROUP A

Location between refinery and nature
The site along the d'Arcyweg-area is located in the transition zone between the harsh industrial landscape of refineries and the lush green and wetlands of the Brielsemeer directly across the Hartel Canal. The key position this location holds – situated in the prominent curve of the A15 motorway – offers potentially exceptional development opportunities. The underlying landscape vision for the wider area envisages for the location the construction of a high dune body along the curve of the highway. The landscape intervention provides, together with the need to create a safe workplace against possible explosion of the oil refinery, highly unconventional but interesting conditions for the new office building. Starting point in the GROUP A design is to highlight and further strengthen the particular circumstances of the site, in the design development of both the exterior and the interior of the building.

BP Rotterdam Refinery, image courtesy GROUP A | Photo by Scagliola/Brakkee

Building in man-made dune
Because of the possible danger of explosion the building is on the north site nestled into the landscaped dune, while on the south side the building emerges from the dune, thereby optimising views out and the entry of natural light. As a result the building will have three characteristic sides:

1. the dune on the north side where building and landscape merge,
2. the south side where the building with its distinct volumes becomes clearly visible from the Suurhoff Bridge,
3. the elegantly curved facade on the square side where in an accessible and logical manner the entrance of the building is positioned.

BP Rotterdam Refinery, image courtesy GROUP A | Photo by Scagliola/Brakkee

Cut out in dune
Also in the interior the dune is visible in a dynamic way and forms part of the work environment. An elongated and organising atrium space is cut out from the man made dune, full of light and with constantly changing dimensions by the undulating cutting edge to the dune side. The wall on the cutting edge is covered with timber slats that differ in color and size, and evoke an association with geological layers; a reference to the business activities of BP RR. The extensive use of natural materials like wood, concrete and natural stone, again emphasise the 'nature' and robustness of the core business activities of the company.

BP Rotterdam Refinery, image courtesy GROUP A | Photo by Roos Aldershoff

Meeting rooms as 'sky-boxes'
The atrium is flanked by two parallel office wings. Office floors, each linked by bridges, are in open connection with each other and the atrium space. Meetings take place in box-shaped volumes, pushed into the atrium as 'sky-boxes'. The entire BP RR organisation operates in one open space according to 'The New World of Work' principles, resulting in an interactive environment that encourages communication, collaboration and creativity amongst staff. All visible and tangible qualities of the building fit in seamlessly with the core values of BP Rotterdam Refinery: the pursuit of an attractive workplace where both young and senior professionals can meet. The final result is a working environment whereby landscape, building and interior fully blend and literally flow into one another.

BP Rotterdam Refinery, image courtesy GROUP A | Photo by Scagliola/Brakkee

Current themes
Current themes relevant to the new officces for BP RR are:
• Type of commission Fully integrated – From Landscape to Interior Design
• Technique Blastproof – Main structure, roof and facades
• Architecture and Landscape Architecture in the Port of Rotterdam – Building in man-made dune
• Werkspace Concept 'The New World of Work'
• Type of contract Design & Build / UAV-GC (Uniform Administrative Conditions for Integrated Contracts)

AWP + HHF have just won the competition to deliver a masterplan plan for the development of all urban spaces in the La Défense central business district, Paris.

The same month AWP has also won the competition to design the public realm of Jardins de l'Arche, below the Grande Arche de la Défense and around the new stadium Arena 92.

HHF: Opening of the exhibition 'Ai Weiwei: Art/Architecture' at the Kunsthaus Bregenz, which will be shown from July 16th till October 16th. HHF shows 4 projects, 3 of them designed in collaboration with Ai Weiwei…

Render courtesy AWP + HHF

The series of a pavilions with different public functions and programs are part of a future 113 hectare large public green space along the Seine river, in Carrière-Sous-Poissy, at the end station of the RER line A and close the renown Villa Savoye from Le Corbusier. The Park designed by the Paris based landscape architects Agence TER will be a public park and ecological showcase for local residents and a leisure destination for people living in and around Paris.

The competition brief included the construction of a visitor's center, of a restaurant ("guinguette"), of an observatory plus about a dozen smaller infrastructure "follies" with different uses.

Render courtesy AWP + HHF

Similar to the popular wooden preschool toys in form of building blocks made of out of colorful wood, this collection of pavilions and small infrastructure «follies» is based on a modular wood system, repeating and combining different sized and different angled timber frames. This approach allows for interesting and unusual constructions, enabling a wide range of possible variations with a very limited number of elements, while at the same type staying very flexible for future adaptions and  during the construction phase. This will result in unique atmospheres and spaces for each of the pavilions and infrastructure follies. In addition to that it's a relatively low priced construction method which enables the integration of local building know how and local companies.

Render courtesy AWP + HHF

The site of the project is an exceptional one, for its location along the Seine river and for its "in-between", dual nature (land/water, city/sprawl, wilderness/domesticated nature). The presence of barges, fishing huts and houseboats, which have been so far inhabiting the site has been a powerful source of inspiration. On the other side, the site boundary is characterized by suburban nondescript housing pavilions. The design springs from a process of hybridization between these two existing habitat models: the floating barge and the archetypical suburban house resulting in a new typology emerging in the park and dealing with the site's memory and identity both spatially and socially, whilst providing a contemporary and forward-looking response.

Render courtesy AWP + HHF

By working along residential neighborhoods and along the river, we are invited by this project to come inhabit a large urban room worthy of Paris' tradition of great terraced boulevards. This very active strip of land is made up of continuous docks, a large mooring space for barges, pontoons, lookouts, observatories, cantilevered terraces…

These small, furtive constructions must stimulate the flow of people over the entire length of the park, and towards the water and city, as well as provide facilities for viewing the landscape: framing/unframing. They will bring an inspirational atmosphere, to encourage new experiences. We want to suggest windows for sharing this new kind of landscape, and bring the surrounding city to life by intensifying certain elements of the landscape plan:

inscribe it within an urban strategy. The idea is to create conditions for viewing the space, to allow crossovers that are adapted to the buildings' uses, users, to the evolution of their surroundings.

Render courtesy AWP + HHF

+ About AWP

AWP is an award winning interdisciplinary office for territorial reconfiguration and design. The practice has been established in Paris in 2003 – since then its partners Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud and Alessandra Cianchetta have been working on a wide variety of programmes : architecture, landscape design, strategic planning and urbanism ranging from major large scale public projects to temporary installations both in France and internationally. The practice was awarded the French Ministry of Culture's Prize for Best Young Architects in 2006, and the French Ministry of Transport, Housing and Ecology's PJU urban planning award 2010.

Relevant projects include the Lantern pavilion in Sandnes, Norway, nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009, the masterplanning of public spaces and mobility for the 230ha Praille-Acacias-Vernets area, Geneva, the construction of the Evry wastewater treatment plant, France, the sculpture park for the LAM – Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art of Lille Metropole, France -, the public realm redesign of Capodichino airport and the Ferro-Gomma Hub multimodal park in Naples, Italy (with RSH-P). AWP also curates and designs exhibitions for major cultural institutions and write regularly books and essays. The three partners have exhibited their work and lectured at many architectural venues in Paris, London, Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Beijing, Toronto, Belgrade, Tianjin, Winnipeg, Geneva, Copenhagen, Oslo, Trondheim, Tirana, Lausanne, Montréal, New York and many others places.

+ About HHF architects

HHF architects was founded in 2003 by Tilo Herlach, Simon Hartmann and Simon Frommenwiler. Since then HHF have realized projects in Switzerland, Germany, China, Mexico, France and the USA. The scope of work ranges broadly and includes: large scale construction, e.g., fashion center Labels Berlin 2; interior design, e.g., the Confiserie Bachmann in Basel; master planning, e.g., the public space and mobility strategy for the Praille Acacias Vernets, Geneva; public structures, e.g., Ruta del Peregrino Lookout Point of a pilgrimage route in Mexico; or the Baby Dragon pavilion in the Jinhua Architecture Park, China.

From the beginning HHF has aimed for collaborations with other architects, artists and specialists in order to widen the view on a project and enrich the quality of a specific proposal. In addition to building, teaching is an important activity of the office. Since 2009 Simon Hartmann has been Professor at the HTA in Fribourg, Switzerland. Previously he served as a teaching assistant and head of teaching at the ETH Studio Basel, with Professors Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Roger Diener and Marcel Meili. Simon Frommenwiler was a teaching assistant with Professor Harry Gugger at the ETH in Lausanne and a guest professor at the HTA in Fribourg. HHF architects also guest lectured at the UIA in Mexico City, at MIT in Boston and the University of Innsbruck and the firm's architects have participated as jury members at numerous universities.

+ Project credits / data

Project: PAVILIONS AND FOLLIES OF THE «PARC DES BORDS DE SEINE»
Location: Carrière-Sous -Poissy, Paris, France
Net floor area: 1900m2 approx.
Type of project: Public equipments. Pavilions and Follies
Planned: 2011
Client: Communauté d'agglomération des Deux Rives de la Seine
Architects: AWP | http://www.awp.fr + HHF | http://www.hhf.ch
Project responsible: Alessandra Cianchetta
Team AWP: Marc Armengaud, Matthias Armengaud, Alessandra Cianchetta, Miguel La Parra Knapman, David Perez
Team HHF: Simon Frommenwiler, Simon Hartmann, Tilo Herlach
Structure: EVP
Engineering / QS: GINGER
Competition: 1st prize, 2011 / preliminary studies ongoing
Images: © AWP – HHF, Sbda

+ All images courtesy AWP + HHF