HAKA Building, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

Built in the early 1930s, the HAKA building in Rotterdam is a former factory that has been converted into a recycled office space, or “Clean Living Lab”, by architects Doepel Strijkers. The 1000 square metre space has been split into different areas including an auditorium, an exhibition area, a boardroom, lounge and kitchen spaces, as well as a number of generously proportioned offices. The whole interior has been fashioned out of materials that have been locally sourced from demolished buildings and other second hand resources, including the colourful walls built from 8000kg of old clothes, the boardroom that is constructed entirely from recycled doors and the pulpit-style seating made from demolished post-war housing. The HAKA Building is an architectural experiment in sustainable design, whose long-term goal has been the creation of an environment that is both energy saving and waste-free.

The auditorium of this unique architectural project has been equipped with Fohhn systems. White LX-150 loudspeakers suspended from the ceiling were chosen in order to blend with the powerful yet minimal appearance of the interior; the speakers’ slim, shapely design being ideally suited to the overall project concept. Combined with XS-30 subwoofers and a DSP-controlled amplifier, it has been possible to cover the entire room using just two loudspeakers. The result - an impressive full-range sound that not only offers excellent speech intelligibility but also involves less power consumption.

Congratulations to Air Light Utrecht on this extraordinary project.