The Mayor: that once housed an office here will soon be unthinkable

The imposing office building had much good in it. With saw blades of a meter in diameter, the connected building was "cut up" into five stately buildings with their feet in greenery. By dividing the immense building, everyone will soon have a chic, private entrance and the new side facades could be windows. Inside, the entire office will be gutted; not a wall will remain standing. All that will be preserved are the escape stairs, clad in marble.

By Lodewijk Baljon

None other than Lodewijk Baljon Tuin- en Landschapsarchitecten - who also conceived the park above the sunken laid A9 - made a design for the inner gardens of The Mayor. Incidentally, it's not just the surroundings that turn green, the roof as well. Rainwater is collected there. These are all excellent measures to combat heat stress in the city.

Unrecognizable and like new

Project developer Eltjo Hamster says, "We have kept what is good and are adding quality and luxury. In the winter, heat is pumped up through the WKO system to heat the floor; in the summer, the system can cool. The system offers numerous options for integrated air conditioning, which feels very comfortable. Of course, there are solar panels on the roof and the new aluminum window frames have well-insulated glazing. Even the facades we are going to re-insulate, after which we will provide them with a fresh, white coat of stucco."

Circular development, de Nijs makes it concrete

Such a large-scale transformation is bound to release materials that can be reused? "Definitely!" continues Eltjo. "The entire furnishing package of the KPMG boardroom is now at De Nijs, and from the wooden ceilings we carpentered consultation rooms at our headquarters. The original Fire Department panels (floor plans) made of brass are so special that we kept them. Possibly we will have an artist create a beautiful work of this for the hallway of one of the buildings."

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