07 Oct 2025

DSM-Firmenich lab building officially opened

The historic DSM-Firmenich factory site on the edge of Delft is transforming into a clean, modern Biotech Campus. The latest architectural addition is the Van Marken Food Innovation Center, designed by cepezed and built within two years by De Vries en Verburg. The company’s commitment to transparency is evident, among other things, in the fascinating views through to the laboratories.

pleasant and bright
The Van Marken Food Innovation Center serves as the headquarters for the Taste, Texture & Health division. In addition to laboratories, the building houses a brewery, cheesemaking facility, bakery, demonstration kitchen, office workspaces, and various meeting and brainstorming areas. It is a place to welcome customers and jointly develop, test, and taste new products. Around five hundred people will work here in total. During construction, the building earned the nickname Sunlight, after it became clear how beautifully natural light floods the interior – a sign of how pleasant it is to work here.

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Afbeelding

wood
The shared spaces have been carefully designed. Daylight reaches deep into the building, and there are views of the campus from almost everywhere. The staircases are conceived as places to linger, while plants, wood, and roughly woven fabrics bring warmth to the communal zones – a result that perfectly illustrates the added value of the close collaboration between cepezed and cepezedinterieur. Workspaces are transparent yet intimate, and glass internal walls allow glimpses of the laboratories. Quite a contrast to the former DSM yeast factory – although yeast still plays a central role at the Van Marken Food Innovation Center.

first laboratory with the breeam outstanding label
The entrance marks the start of a pedestrian boulevard. Because the entrance area flows into a communal zone with staircases, the interior almost feels like an extension of the outdoors. The nickname Sunlight also suits the façades: they are almost entirely clad in PV panels interspersed with glass. The top floor, which is slightly set back, houses the extensive technical installations required for the building. Thanks to its greenery, PV panels, and choice of materials, the Van Marken Food Innovation Center is remarkably sustainable despite its complex infrastructure. It is the first laboratory in Europe to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating (87.53 percent) for its design.

a growing campus
DSM-Firmenich aims to develop an open innovation campus over the coming years. To achieve this, the Planet B Foundation was established in 2020. By now, around twenty other companies have joined DSM-Firmenich on the campus. Back in 2017, DSM had already opened the Rosalind Franklin Biotechnology Centre, also designed by cepezed. Planet B envisions the campus growing over the coming decades into a workplace for more than five thousand people. The new campus buildings are being developed by the Dutch Science Park Fund.

The Van Marken Food Innovation Center is a project by cepezed and cepezedinterieur, in collaboration with DSM Delft, ASR Dutch Science Park Fund, ABT, Pieters Bouwtechniek, Huygen Installatie Adviseurs, and De Vries en Verburg.