Flexible office design responds to post-pandemic workplace needs

With the completion of the Booking.com City Campus in the heart of Amsterdam, all 6,500 employees of the Dutch travel platform can now work in the same building for the first time in more than a decade. Previously spread out among numerous locations dotted all around the city, Booking.com celebrated their coming together with the grand opening of their new campus.

Alongside the adjoining residential component, the main campus building was designed by Tendersteam member UNStudio, who worked in close collaboration with the Booking.com team to create a contemporary, healthy and sustainable work environment. As the lead interior Architect, HofmanDujardin created and coordinated the interior fit out masterplan that combines the work of multiple international design firms.

Given that working habits have shifted in various ways since the pandemic, Booking.com listened to feedback from their employees during an orchestrated, step-by-step rehousing. UNStudio paid close attention to the objectives of Booking.com from the outset, collaborating closely in the final phase to assist with design improvements to accommodate any identified shifts in post-pandemic user needs.

Both the architecture and the interiors of the 65,000 sq m campus are designed to encourage encounters among Booking.com employees, visitors, residents and the wide array of people who live, work or visit the Oosterdokseiland in the centre of Amsterdam. The architecture provides engaging environments and encourages physical movement by use of stairs, bridges and galleries across all levels, including the rooftop. The flexible and generous design of the work floors made it possible to create numerous working and meeting spaces, giving employees freedom of choice to ‘design their day’ for a healthy and productive work life.

Ben van Berkel, founder and principal architect of UNStudio, stated: "We wanted to create a building that could also operate as a ‘recruitment machine’. The focus was on serving the needs and behaviour of Booking.com employees, from the moment they walk in, to the end of their working day, and all the activities in between."

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 15.10.2018 here

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