Police office Midden Nederland

Can Ahrend furnish a department in a way that creates diversity amongst unity? And how can you use your furniture and layout to create an environment that encourages collaborative partners to come and work at the office? And the same space must also be capable of being transformed quickly into a crisis centre! ‘Our cooperation with Ahrend was excellent. I felt there was genuine collective responsibility.’

Unity in diversity

The Utrecht police headquarters wanted to create an environment suited to various forms of working. For example, one floor is home to a department divided into five clusters. It is important that the own identity of these clusters are emphasized within a larger unit. Principal and project manager Robert Woud: ‘The Ahrend interior architect offered an simple but effective solution: the furniture is the same throughout, but the colours and finishes vary. Each cluster has its own whiteboard with a cut-out of the skyline of the region for which it works.’

Working together in new safety coalitions

An additional wish from this police station was to create an inspiring meeting space that can be accessed flexibly and ‘freely’, not just by police staff but also by external parties such as the Public Prosecution Service, council workers, researchers and social start-ups. As Woud says, the police must work together! ‘We are actively searching for new partnerships. The extra challenge for the design and furnishing of this space is that when emergencies strike, it has to be converted into a crisis centre very quickly.’

‘Our cooperation with Ahrend was excellent. I felt there was genuine collective responsibility on this project.’

Robert Woud Police Project Manager

From meeting space to crisis centre

This means using items of furniture that can quickly and easily be stacked, for example, and moved around. That is why Aero and Move it tables and Well chairs and A370 stools have been used for the meeting area/crisis centre.

Whereas the meeting area is invigorating through the use of colour, enabling various kinds of meetings, sit/stand workstations, screens and visuals on the walls, the offices have been kept tranquil to enable staff to concentrate on their work.

Space-in-space for focus

Louis Tuasuun, Account Manager on behalf of Ahrend: ‘Space-in-space elements like the Flexbox and Silence Call assist in a number of working methods such as concentrated working and virtual meetings. We have also adapted existing Ahrend products so they can easily be used elsewhere within the office or the police force. The other products were selected for their multi-functionality. They can also be used for various functions or elsewhere within the organisation.’

Police office Midden Nederland about Ahrend

‘The users are really proud of their workplace and the work environment. They are happy with the choices we made together. The two floors really feel pleasant; they are colourful without being too bright, and there is space for every kind of work, whether alone or collective. It really has turned out great! There sure will be a next chapter.’

- Robert Woud, Police Project Manager