Equinox The Hague, The Netherlands 1994 - 2001

The 130,000 square foot (12,500 square meters) Equinox building located in the Hague, is one of a series of buildings designed to bridge the Utrechtse Baan, a 6-lane highway and unite two neighborhoods otherwise separated by the road. It lies between the Beatrix Quartier, the commercial high-rise neighborhood to the east, and the smaller-scale, residential enclave Bezuidenhout West. The site is the Jan Pietersz Coenstraat overpass. The urban concept calls for maximum transparency toward the recessed Utrechtse Baan and maintaining the residential street line along the J.P. Coenstraat overpass. Thus, the building was designed as two complimentary crescents spanning the Utrechtse Baan and aligned on axis with the J.P. Coenstraat. Each building is 100 feet tall and is situated 17 feet above the highway. To reinforce the perception of building as bridge, the bearing structure has been raised to the second level. A 7-foot deep structure carries the upper stories of the buildings, spans the highway and transfers the load to the Utrechtse Baan foundation. The two levels of parking are suspended below and joined together by a graceful inverted curve of reinforcing structure. This configuration effectively functions as a bridge between the two communities and communicates the essential nature of all the projects incorporated in the Utrechtse Baan urban plan. The use of crescents as a building form allows the structure to incorporate two levels of parking without creating a podium that projects beyond the boundaries of the office facades. This provides the narrowest building façade facing each of the neighborhoods. Second, it pushes the facades away from the JP Coenstraat sidewalk edges thereby creating room for a single lobby on one side and a public function such as a shop or gallery on the other. The circulation for parking is neatly hidden behind the public functions of the lobby and a sculptural screen on the other side. To maximize the building's transparency the metal and glass curtainwall utilizes non-reflected glass, emphasizes horizontality, and is articulated by elongated metal fins along the mullions. From the Utrechtse Baan, a carefully angled vertical cut splits the curved facade to maximize the view through the building toward daylight. Enclosed pedestrian bridges connect the crescents at the third and 7 & 8 levels. Guests pass through security in the entrance lobby below before ascending to the second-floor lobby bridge, which provides access to meeting rooms, and with its coffee bar and reception, offers a semi-public space for waiting visitors. At the uppermost levels, the bridge adds to the building's flexibility in the division of tenant space by providing contiguous space in both crescents. In the evening, the bridges are illuminated and provide an animated facade. The metal and glass curtain wall is constructed to emphasize horizontality and lightness. This is articulated on the elevation by elongated metal fins along the mullions and by suppressing the expression of vertical glass divisions. Transparency is also achieved by using non-reflective glass on the crescent sides of the building and in the introduction of shadowboxes. A shadowbox is a curtain wall component assembled with the opaque surface set back from the transparent one on order to capture a shadow line and create the illusion of transparency. It is used here for the first time in the Netherlands in place of the more usual spandrel panel to increase the perception of transparency. As a counterpoint, the curved screen walls flanking Jan Pietersz Coenstraat are closed. However, the generous lobby glazing opens the interior spaces to pedestrians. These walls offer a sense of foundation to the floating office floors above.