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Van Marken Center

clients(s)

DSM Delft

location

Delft

users(s)

dsm-firmenich

The Van Marken Food Innovation Center, headquarters of the Taste, Texture & Health research department, marks the head of the pedestrian boulevard on the new Biotech Campus. Behind the functional façades clad with dark PV panels, a soft and light interior is waiting to be discovered. The importance that DSM-Firmenich attaches to transparency is reflected in the fascinating views into the laboratories. The straight line of the boulevard is continued into the building with a wide staircase, where daylight falls invitingly.

chance encouters 

The Van Marken Food Innovation Center intended for receiving customers and (jointly) developing, testing and tasting products. Besides laboratories and these kitchens, the building also houses demonstrations kitchens and a brewery, cheese factory and bakery. The central staircase is designed as a place for chance encounters. Large plants, warm colours and interior finishes in natural materials such as wood, bamboo and rough-woven fabrics counterbalance the technical equipment and cleanness of the labs, creating a warm atmosphere. The ease of the interior stems from the close collaboration between cepezed and cepezedinterieur from the start of the design process. The staircase ends on the second floor in an informal, living room-like space.

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Lucas van der Wee

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Lucas van der Wee

clear layout 

The building has a clear layout based on its three main functions: laboratories, office and meeting rooms, and inspiring experience zones. Deeper inside the building and on the recessed top floor are the technical and service areas. Office workspaces have been placed along the facades as much as possible, around the laboratories, call rooms and meeting rooms. The experience zones, for meetings with colleagues and customers, border the research areas. Transparent laboratory walls provide a view of what is going on inside. The experience zones also offer the opportunity to taste: test panels assess new products for taste, smell and mouthfeel.

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Lucas van der Wee

surprise 

The façades alternate between floor-to-ceiling glass, which brings daylight deep into the building, and strips of façade with integrated solar panels. The strips with PV panels are black because, due to the building's high energy demand, PV with the highest efficiency was chosen. This gives the façade of the Van Marken Food Innovation Centre the appearance of a dark shell, which further enhances the surprise of the soft, light, biophilic interior. The roof and the shell around the technical room are also covered with PV panels.

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Lucas van der Wee

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Lucas van der Wee

Breeam outstanding 

Partly due to the many plants and small trees, the PV panels and the use of materials, the Van Marken Food Innovation Centre is a very sustainable building despite the many installations. Like other cepezed buildings, the construction and other building elements are detachable and reusable. Prefabricated elements are of high quality and joints are carefully designed, so that the structural work can also be the finishing work. Partly because of this, De Vries en Verburg completed the building within two years. The design received a BREEAM Outstanding certification (87.53 per cent). During the design process, the WELL Platinum standard was also adhered to.

260120 MG 3464 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

contact

mail bd@cepezed.nl or call our
business development team
on +31 (0)15 2150000

partners 

client: DSM Delft
investor: ASR Dutch Science Park Fund
interior design: cepezedinterieur
building physics & sustainability: abt
constructions: pieters bouwtechniek
installations: Huygen installatie adviseurs
main contractor: De Vries en Verburg

related projects

DSM Rosalind Franklin Biotechnology Center

Nutricia Research

Genmab