"SRBA is of course proud of every project, when I drive around the Netherlands and sometimes abroad I see beautiful developments everywhere that we were involved in as a construction partner. But sometimes there are those projects that you know will go down in the books as very special. The new international headquarters of Booking.com is such a project. An architectural tour de force where we helped build a new standard with various SRBA divisions and together with our partners, says SRBA Managing Director Chayenne Muller. In this article we tell more about the leading building and discuss some of the unique custom solutions that were realized.

Booking.com Campus

The completion of the Booking Campus on the Oosterdokseiland in Amsterdam marks the completion of the area. The striking and sustainable building with glass facades and partially glass roof exudes transparency. From the outside, the building designed by UN Studio can already rightly be called spectacular, but the interior is perhaps even more impressive. A "wow feeling" is therefore almost impossible to suppress upon entering!

The imposing 63,500-square-meter building serves as Booking.com's international headquarters. It features four and a half thousand workstations, social spaces, co-creation spaces, silence workstations, restaurants and a rooftop terrace with stunning views of the IJ and the old city center. In addition, the building can also be called multifunctional, as it also houses apartments and offers fifteen hundred square meters of public functions on the first floor, with a parking garage and ample bicycle storage underneath.

SRBA Group as project partner in realization

"In this mega-project, we were responsible for the development and realization of numerous elements. Think of structural parts, walls, (exterior) ceilings, (fire-resistant) cladding, acoustic wall cladding and aluminum cladding. In short, in every part of the building and especially in the interior there is a piece of SRBA, says head of SRBA Construction Roel Peijs.

Therefore, the challenge in the initial phase for such a large project is mainly in the engineering and execution. Virtually all applied parts are specially developed and produced. Of course, everything must also turn out well in "real life" but we can already proudly say that the final result really exceeds all our expectations. It is remarkable how reality exactly matches the pre-made rendering. That gives me not only an enormous kick but also a proud feeling, says Roel Peijs.

The ceiling is a true work of art with unique ceiling elements

Made of Gyrex material, the panels are molded and pigmented. Woodpanels fill the open spaces in the concrete deck at the edge of the ceiling panels, which are mounted with a special suspension system for easy removal during maintenance. A total of about 250 Woodpanel panels from Hunter Douglas were used, consisting of four different types - two closed and two open systems. This combination creates a captivating view that changes everywhere depending on the viewpoint.

The ceiling is a true work of art with a spectacular interplay of lines of wooden slats, with the gray color making it appear as a whole. The framework and folding plaster for the horizontal beams were prefabricated by SRBA Modules. The slats are stepped and applied in different directions, creating an intriguing effect that keeps you enthralled.

“Impressive steel columns support the ceiling, which displays spectacular lines thanks to the wooden slats,“ explains Manon van de Kerkhof of SRBA Modules. “The horizontal beams are made of shingles plated with 'slap' plaster. Both the framework and the precast clap plaster were produced by SRBA Modules. The gray color makes it appear to be one unit.“ The fact that we could already prefabricate this project at our production site in Helmond ensured efficient completion.

the special thing in this project for SRBA is the amount of customization especially in the ceilings. Below is a summary:

• Concrete cassettes filled with acoustic wood panels (manufactured in-house at SRBA Interior)
• A slatted ceiling in the restaurant with each slat hanging at a different angle ( developed in-house in cooperation with our partner Hunter Douglas)
• A concrete-look ceiling and vider edge made of lightweight (developed and produced in-house with our partner Gyrex)
• Steel-look cove sheathing made of slap plaster in slate corners (self-developed and produced with SRBA Modules)
• A 3D ceiling made of expanded metal (developed in-house with our partner Durlum)

Conclusion project Booking Campus

SRBA Group played a crucial role in the completion of Booking.com 's new international headquarters in Amsterdam. The innovative building, completed on the Oosterdokseiland, offers a spectacular interior with a "wow feeling" upon entry. The challenge was in the engineering and execution, with almost all parts being specially developed and produced. From the unique ceiling with wooden slats, to the acoustic walls. "We can only realize projects like this as a big family. We have all the expertise in-house and together with our partners we make it happen. That fills me with pride, says Chayenne Muller, general manager of the SRBA Group. So I enjoyed The Making of Booking.com's Newest Campus, the documentary made about the creation of the building. Central to the documentary is the force field that arises when totally different parties work together, each with its own expertise and identity. That force field is enormously complex, but when it works, wonderful things are created. The documentary contains many images of the building process, and then I know for sure, if there is a documentary that shows how we work, it must be very special.