The new Krinkels headquarters at the periphery of the city of Breda is designed by Paul de Ruiter architects. The highly transparent and sustainable building is embedded in a natural landscape which is extended into the interior by green plant walls and a large tree in the heart of the building.
Despite the fact that the glass facades and a transparent ETF roof allow daylight to flood the building, the amount of light is not enough to maintain all living plants inside. An additional, electric lighting scheme was thus designed to keep the plants healthy and to create a pleasant atmosphere after sunset.
DALI dimmable track lights provide the flexibility needed to both light up the green walls (providing the right wavelengths for the plants) and to set the right ambience in relation to the time of day. Finding a fixture to satisfy all requirements such as spectral distribution, DALI dimmability and ability to fit into a curved track, was quite a challenge.
As for the atmosphere in the heart of the building, a subtle play of light and shadow patterns from the big atrium tree creates a pleasant ambiance referring to sunlight falling through leaves. In addition, the spatial experience is enhanced by light in the bench around the tree and in the sculptural stairs.
Looking at the building at night from afar, the transparent façade clearly reveals the interior spaces, the vertical, green walls and the big tree. Other than that, the shape of the upper volume stands out and seems to float due to the lighting applied. The surrounding landscape, carefully designed by Buro Lubbers, is lit in a discrete manner: Low bollards light up the pavement of the access road, connecting the landscape and the building while preserving the view. Carefully selected trees help shaping the nocturnal landscape while the flight route of the local bats is being respected.
You can find more info about this project at: https://paulderuiter.nl/projects/krinkels/
http://www.burolubbers.nl