Security must be integrally incorporated into a building design, just like sustainability, for example. That is at least the shared vision of Mactwin and Jeroen Steenvoorden and Jeroen Spee from studio PROTOTYPE. A good example of this is the entrance building of the new Pieter Baan Centre in Almere. In this case study, the architects explain how they achieved a beautiful, sustainable, and secure design.
The two young architects, who graduated together in Delft, founded studio PROTOTYPE at the end of 2008. The firm now employs approximately 12 staff members. The architects strongly believe in the power of integral design and the deployment of a multidisciplinary team. For the design assignment of the entrance building, there was – as usual – a framework of unique constraints. In this case, explicitly also in the area of security. For this, studio PROTOTYPE engaged the external expertise of Mactwin.
The entrance building provides visitors, such as lawyers and family members of ‘observandi’, access to the Pieter Baan Centre. The entrance stands separate from the new construction of the Pieter Baan Centre, but is part of the urban planning unit of the Oostvaarderskliniek. Jeroen Steenvoorden: “We have designed a functional and secure building that fits well within this urban planning unit. The building we have designed is light and gives the suggestion of openness.” The latter seems to contradict the desired high security level, but the opposite is true. “Security is an integral part of the design. Visitors hardly notice that they are in a high-security environment. We wanted to soften the experience of visitors – such as family members. Through the openness and abundant light in the design, visitors can move calmly and comfortably to the actual Pieter Baan Centre and transition almost unnoticed from an open to a more secure and ultimately to a high-security environment.”
Jeroen Steenvoorden: “We have designed a functional and secure building that fits well within this urban planning unit. The building we have designed is light and gives the suggestion of openness.” The latter seems to contradict the desired high security level, but the opposite is true. “Security is an integral part of the design. Visitors hardly notice that they are in a high-security environment. We wanted to soften the experience of visitors – such as family members. Through the openness and abundant light in the design, visitors can move calmly and comfortably to the actual Pieter Baan Centre and transition almost unnoticed from an open to a more secure and ultimately to a high-security environment.”
If security has such a high priority, then in our opinion you must incorporate that into the design from the start. If you don’t do that, then all kinds of elements must be added at a later stage that either don’t fit well into the design or are not optimally functional.