250924 MG 1512 Lucas van der Wee

Plus Ultra Utrecht

clients(s)

Kadans science partner

location

Utrecht Science Park

users(s)

start-ups, scale ups

Plus Ultra is a multi-tenant building with laboratories, offices and shared facilities such as meeting rooms. Its wooden slatted façade and spectacular angles make it a striking feature of Utrecht Science Park. Prominent features such as balustrades and sky bridges, a tall, white spiral staircase and a large hanging artwork add dynamism to the interior without creating turmoil. Plus Ultra is a formula developed by Kadans Science Partner; we have also designed Plus Ultra buildings in Leiden and Amsterdam.

plusultra_concept_sketch

Cepezed

two volumes 

The angles required by the shape of the plot give Plus Ultra Utrecht a character all of its own. The building consists of two volumes: a tower rests on top of a wedge-shaped, low block with an atrium. The building has twelve floors in total. Almost all shared facilities are located on the ground floor. Because these facilities are partly public, a lot of glass has been used here. This glass plinth ensures that the exhibitions in the science gallery are clearly visible from the outside. The tower also has a glass plinth. This accentuates the volume division and provides a beautiful view on a lush roof garden. 

250704 MG 9616 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

250924 MG 1101 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

connect 

Plus Ultra is intended for start-ups and scale-ups in the life sciences. Start-ups use the low-rise building, while scale-ups use the high-rise building. Galleries and walkways in the atrium connect the offices, shared laboratories and meeting rooms. The spacious, bright atrium forms the heart of the building and connects to a terrace on the south façade: the atrium is the place to meet. This applies to both Plus Ultra users and people from outside, as the restaurant adjacent to the atrium is open to the public. The many large plants, careful detailing, the setback with the roof garden on the fifth floor and the expansive view all make Plus Ultra Utrecht a pleasant building.

250924 MG 1025 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

sustainable façade 

The wooden slatted cladding creates unity and atmosphere. The interplay of lines connects the high block with the low one and the outside with the inside, where wooden slats have also been used. They even continue at the bottom of the long, narrow canopies above the glass panels, which are covered with PV panels. Kadans and cepezed share the same high sustainability ambitions. Plus Ultra Utrecht has been awarded a BREEAM Outstanding design certificate and meets WELL Platinum requirements. The building has a detachable steel and wood structural framework, thermal energy storage and PV panels on the roofs. 

250924 MG 1301 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

250704 MG 9596 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

spiral staircase 

The wooden slats on the façade continue into the interior in a comparable type of wood. cepezedinterieur used the series of modular furniture elements that it had previously designed for Kadans. The wooden finishing and white steel of the structural elements and the spiral staircase in the atrium are complemented by a single green accent and different shades of blue. Combined with the many plants, this generates tranquillity. The spiral staircase, an attractive feature connecting the ground floor with the wide galleries and walkways of the upper floors, is consequently even more striking.

250924 MG 1189 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

radiolaria 

Next to the staircase, the artwork hanging in the atrium immediately catches the eye. It is a greatly enlarged radiolarian, or plankton. With this enlargement, artist Vincent Mock wants to evoke wonder for nature and emphasise our enormous responsibility for it. This ties in seamlessly with Plus Ultra's sustainability ambition and function. In the science gallery on the ground floor, there is a microscope set up that allows you to see the 0.1-millimetre organism in real life.

250704 MG 9576 Lucas van der Wee

Lucas van der Wee

This video cannot be played because your cookie settings block the use of third-party cookies (such as Vimeo).

contact

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

partners 

Contractor: Goossen Te Pas
Mechanical engineering: Instaan
Electrical engineering: JWR
Building surfaces: Deerns
Landscape design: MTD landschapsarchitecten

related projects

Plus Ultra Amsterdam

plus ultra leiden

Accelerator

Nutricia Research