cepezed

nutricia research

cepezed

French multinational Danone has concentrated its European R&D activities in the area of medical and baby nutrition under the name Nutricia Research in the Science Park in Utrecht, which is developing quickly at the moment into a centre of scientific research and knowledge-intensive activity in the field of Life Sciences. There are more than 400 employees working in the new building.

The programme includes a pilot plant, laboratories, offices, storage capacity, a conference centre, a café and a restaurant. The design focuses on the creation of an open, dynamic and inspiring environment with a high level of comfort and a large measure of functionality. It is characterized by considerable spatial diversity with long sight lines, so that users can find their bearings easily and also enjoy countless internal and external views. The principal structure consists of a quadrangular floor plan with two oblique sides, where two large recesses function as atriums. As a result, the building ultimately has three main bays. A promenade with elevated walkways that bridge the atriums is part of the logistic routing on the upper floors.

Besides long sight lines and a varied experience, the spatial structure ensures diverse and efficient utilization of space, where the areas can be arranged entirely flexibly, offices and laboratories for instance are interchangeable and the means of access also offers possibilities for multi-tenant use. A so-called ‘plaza’ stretches out over a substantial part of the first floor and encompasses the floor slabs of both atria as well. A sky bar functions as an extension of the plaza below. The double-height plinth is completely transparent, which gives the building an inviting appearance and also provides a view of the activities inside. Above that, the building is horizontally articulated with alternating dark façade bands and high frameless strips of glazing. In accordance with cepezed tradition, the design is based on a strong rational grid and entirely realized with the aid of prefabricated building elements – one of the reasons it has gained a BREEAM-Excellent certificate for sustainability.

cepezedcepezedcepezed

cepezedcepezed0m 50m

first floor

1 main entrance2 atrium3 grand café4 plaza5 restaurant6 office space7 laboratories

third floor

1

4

3

7 6

6

5

6

6

floor plans1:1000

7

22

6

cepezed

0m 50m

sections & elevations1:750

1 atrium2 main entrance3 plaza4 laboratories5 sensory6 office space7 parking8 technical room

longitudinal section

cross section

7

11

4

6

6

6

4

6

6

6

3

8

33

north elevation

south elevation

east elevation

1

3

6

6

6

45

2

cepezed

fragment staircases en elevatorsscaleless

cepezed0m 1m

1 folded metal roof edge of sheeting2 round emergency overflow inelevation3 facade structure: enamelled glass inhorizontal profiles mounted to aninsulated metal frame structure4 steel HEA 3405 roof structure: EPDM roofing, slopinginsulation, hollow core slab withcompression layer6 folded metal sheeting, with space foroptional sunblind7 aluminum sliding window8 window sill covered with folded metalsheeting9 cement fiberboard, finished withwandflex

vertical facade detail1:10

1

2

3

5

4

7

8

6

9

cepezedcepezed0m 1m

1 structural sealant2 insulated glazing, HR++3 concrete-filled steel column ø324mm, coated white4 window sill finished with foldedmetal sheeting5 aluminum sliding window6 concrete-filled steel column, ø406m, coated white

1

horizontal facade detail1:10

2 3 5 64

0m 1m

1 structural sealant2 insulated glazing, HR++3 concrete-filled steel column ø324mm, coated white4 window sill finished with foldedmetal sheeting5 aluminum sliding window6 concrete-filled steel column, ø406m, coated white

1

horizontal facade detail1:10

2 3 5 64

0m 1m

1 structural sealant2 insulated glazing, HR++3 concrete-filled steel column ø324mm, coated white4 window sill finished with foldedmetal sheeting5 aluminum sliding window6 concrete-filled steel column, ø406m, coated white

1

horizontal facade detail1:10

2 3 5 64

cepezed0m 1m

1 insulated gutter2 IPE6003 steel grating for cleaning of theglass roof4 insulated HR++ glazing encasedin aluminum curtain wall system5 sprinkler head6 metal cassettes, perforated forreasons of acoustics7 sunblind of greenhouse fabricguided by tensioned wiresconnected to rotating tube withengine

2

7

6

4

detail atrium roof1:10

1 3

5

0m 1m

1 insulated gutter2 IPE6003 steel grating for cleaning of theglass roof4 insulated HR++ glazing encasedin aluminum curtain wall system5 sprinkler head6 metal cassettes, perforated forreasons of acoustics7 sunblind of greenhouse fabricguided by tensioned wiresconnected to rotating tube withengine

2

7

6

4

detail atrium roof1:10

1 3

5

cepezedcepezed

cepezedcepezed

cepezedcepezed

colophon

cepezed

projectnutricia research

project addressupsalalaan 12utrecht (NL)

clientovg nederland, rotterdam

tennantnutricia research

architectarchitectenbureau cepezed, delft

structural engineeringbartels, veenendaal

building servicesdeerns, rijswijk

building physics, acoustics and sustainability dgmr, arnhem

main contractorbam utiliteitsbouw, utrecht

realization2013

gfa24.100 m² (19.500 m² offices and labs, 4.600 m² parking)

photographyJannes Linders

Note for the editors:For questions and visual material in high resolution, you can contact cepezeds Jeroen Hendriks at jeroen.hendriks@cepezed.nl or call +31 15 2150000.