HUBERTUS & BERKHOFF CULINARY COLLEGE


The staff and students of Hubertus & Berkhoff Culinary College moved into their new building on the Zuidas in Amsterdam. The interior was designed by Architecten who delivered a tasteful learning environment in which artisanship, tradition and hospitality play a central role.

passage around a central square

Besides ‘conventional’ learning environments such as classrooms, gyms and auditoriums, the new school has two restaurants, a ‘grand café’ with a bakery store, and bakeries and kitchens. The total surface area of 6,600 square metres is spread over three floors. ZENBER brought unity to the new building by arranging the interior as a passage around a central square. This passage connects the floors and the different kinds of space and facilitates safety and supervision while encouraging a buzz of interaction. It also gives you an excellent view of what is going on in the bakery, you can even see who is stirring the soup in the kitchen. The passage is a metaphor for see, smell and taste.

“Tasteful educational environment at the Zuidas”

the most palatable school in the Netherlands

The grand café, the bakery store and the restaurants are alluringly lined up along the gable and invite passers-by to drop in for coffee and cream cakes or a cooked lunch. Like the culinary delights on the menu, the interior has been designed with an eye to detail, with materials and colour schemes that reflect the sweetness and lusciousness of ingredients like honey and chocolate. Visitors find themselves in an attractive setting where they can experience first-hand what the students can do and see how the most palatable school in the Netherlands is upholding a time-honoured tradition as a provider of the best chefs, bakers and hosts. A photo gallery showing the history of the school has been installed in the passage to inspire students and staff.

FACTS EN FIGURES

Client: VOvA en ROC Amsterdam
Location: Amsterdam
GFA: 6.600 m²
Completion: 2015

Project team ZENBER: Eric Wezenberg, Ingrid Heijne
Building consultancy:  ICS adviseurs Amsterdam
Building architect: Ector Hoogstad Architecten

Interior finisher: Van der Plas Meubel & Project
Graphic design: ZENBER Architecten
Photography: Roos Aldershoff