A race
against the clock

European Medicines Agency, Amsterdam

Interiors

Just imagine a lively office full of life, where around 400 colleagues work contently every day. We created just such an environment for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam. With an impressive 125,000 ft² of floorspace and a somewhat challenging 18-month deadline, we showed what a real made-to-measure interior can look like.

Precision planning

The new EMA office and conference center had to be completed within a record time frame of 18 months. This demanded precision planning, for 18 stories accessible through 2 elevators. At the high point, we continuously supplied and installed interior components, while 400 employees got on with their daily work in the building!

“Throughout the project, we worked intensively in a construction team, with a representative from EMA, the contractor and the architect.”
Maarten
projectmanager Gielissen

From the very start of the design phase, the interior fully embraced sustainability. The goal was to exceed the stipulations of the sustainability label BREEAM Excellence. All the interior components that we manufactured and installed still comply with this ambitious objective . This was no simple matter, requiring intensive consultations with the building user and the regular construction of test setups. To ensure that the decisions regarding practicality, ethics and comfort were correct.

Technical
wonder canopy

The most striking component of the interior is the canopy above the coffee bar. Measuring 30 feet in length, 15 feet wide and suspended at a height of 10 feet, it is a splendid example of how technology and design can unite.

Gielissen especially engineered an aluminum structure as a solid basis for the canopy. The veins of a leaf, with in between wood composite panels, all with a unique shape, angle, and dimensions. A challenging puzzle that our team was happy to solve.

The panels are filled with acoustic material and the underside upholstered with sustainable wool felt, to improve the acoustics in the 17-story atrium. In addition, the canopy offers protection from any objects potentially falling from the higher floors, so that you can peacefully enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.

Exceptional
made-to-measure interior

All in all, an enormous job of exceptional made-to-measure elements. We realized around 6,500 square feet of wall paneling, dozens of pantries, lounge seating, a sky bar, a coffee bar, an entrance/reception area and multiple conference halls with stages and public seating. We look back on a prestigious project with a high degree of finish and that all took place inside a very tight time frame.