This corporate headquarters consists of an existing 25,000 square foot, mid-nineteenth century silver factory renovated to accommodate executive offices on the ground floor and fashion design studios in what were the second floor silversmiths' studios. Behind the existing structure a new, 35,000 square foot addition provides fashion display areas, meeting rooms, auditorium, fashion show/exhibit hall, and further office space. Together the old and new buildings surround three sides of a double height, south facing atrium and a reflecting pool.
The design strategy attempts to create a retrospective history for the entire building, as if it had grown over time from the reserved Baroque Classicism of the original facility to the freewheeling shapes of the addition that evoke the lighthearted and idiosyncratic spirit of 1920s Dutch modernism.
