HumanTotalCare
HumanTotalCare is all about establishing a healthy and sustainable work environment across the Netherlands. Vitality and the wellness of the workforce were therefore key aspects when creating the new headquarters in Son, North Brabant.
WELL Building Standard
HumanTotalCare is a company that uses several brands to achieve sustainable deployment across the Dutch workforce. Every day, its 1,400 staff work on behalf of some 65,000 employers and 1.5 million employees. The new headquarters were built and fitted out according to the international WELL Building Standard, which sets high standards of employee wellbeing. HumanTotalCare and Ahrend are proud to have been awarded the Gold WELL Certificate.
Ahrend has plenty of experience of working with the WELL principles and had no problems implementing them for the project. WELL takes a holistic approach and sets standards for air and light quality, as well as water, nutrition, movement and mental health. This demands that the building should have a good climate; the lighting should be as close to natural as possible; the interior should be attuned to the work processes and that, wherever possible, nature should be brought inside. Last but not least: the wishes of the employees are heard and acted upon.
LEGO Partition
Ahrend worked in association with MH1 Architecten and HumanTotalCare to identify the wishes of the employees through workshops: what were their needs in terms of conferencing, working, sit/stand combinations, hospitality and fun? This resulted in a few surprising and original ideas. Such as a conference room where meetings can be held thanks to a Lego partition, and the circular conference tables are made from the floor panels of an old gym.
Table Made From Old CDs
The employees gathered up their old CDs, which were used to make a beautiful, big table. The idea of 'bringing nature inside’ was interpreted in a very literal way: every employee was given a fruit tree when the project started. They looked after their trees at home, and when construction reached completion the trees were planted in the garden of the new office.
‘Ahrend did a good job of translating the work concept we developed into practice.’
HumanTotalCare on Ahrend
“We chose Ahrend because they had a good design and understood what we were trying to achieve in building the new headquarters. They also offered excellent value for money, and the decisive factor was the fact that Ahrend was so knowledgeable about the WELL Building Standard. They played a major part in translating the architect's design into a final layout, in terms of ambiance, choice of furniture and materials. We came up against quite a few challenges, especially where air quality was concerned. The materials used affect the air quality in the employees' workspace. These so-called volatile organic compounds are not always identified in the Netherlands. The standard was very well applied in tandem with the IWBI (International WELL Building Institute), enabling us to provide enough input in the choice of furnishings, fabrics and sustainable materials. An important job done well, and to which Ahrend's contribution was vital. All in all it was a successful process: a great partnership and a fantastic end result.”
- Myrthe Schrijnemakers, Facility Services and Property Manager
Related products
We love working together on solutions!
Would you like a healthy and flexible environment to work in?
Get in touch for advice.