Diemerhof 32 | Diemen

VIA Hotel and VIA Works contribute to Bergwijkpark transformation

Almost simultaneously with the opening of the first VIA Hotel in the Netherlands, this English hotel and real estate company purchased an adjacent office building in Bergwijkpark in Diemen-Zuid. The upper floors of this are now being converted into hotel rooms; on the lower floors the new office concept VIA Works is being launched.

From the first day of opening the VIA Hotel in the former Sphinxstate office building (September 2017), this budget formula has been a phenomenal success, assures Yuval Herrmann, responsible for the hotel arm of the VIA Group. "Youth hotels have undergone an evolution. In the past, they were mostly cheap, but also dirty and dark and not really a place you like to stay. However, there has been a shift in the lifestyle of young people. Young people are a little older now, between 18 and 35, they are getting married later, they are more independent, they travel more easily and they also have a little more to spend. The digital generation is creative and dynamic. These young people want to be able to plug in and work anywhere, there should be a mix of leisure and work. They want to be "connected" and have higher expectations. We respond to this with our hotel formula. We provide high-speed Internet, bars, restaurants and events. Our hotel is all about the total ambiance, the feeling that you have experienced something."

When the opportunity arose to purchase the vacant Diemerhof 32 office building, Herrmann knew no hesitation. "We look at this location with 'London eyes.' The real estate prices here are attractive, the Diemen Zuid campus is nearby, by streetcar, metro or train you are in no time in the center of Amsterdam or at Schiphol Airport. The office area Bergwijkpark is transforming into a lively area with many students and a mix of functions."

VIA Works.

Matching the concept
An obstacle occurred in the transformation of Diemerhof 32. A maximum of 200 hotel rooms is allowed in this part of Diemen Zuid. The first VIA Hotel already has 166, so the newly acquired building will have 33 rooms. Herrmann: "That building is too big for 33 rooms. It raised the question of what we could do with the rest of the building. You could find a big tenant for it, but we don't find that exciting enough. It had to be something that fit our concept. That became VIA Works."

VIA Works offers several flexible workspaces, conference rooms, meeting spaces and a reception area with desk and bar on the first floor. "Of the old interior, we are only maintaining the two cores. Around these, everything will be renewed, with new installations and data cables," says architect Milan Bergh of APTO Architects. "This is a modern workplace concept, with workplaces for start-ups and smaller existing companies. You can work here in different ways. The higher you get in the building, the more private the workplaces become. The wide corridors act as meeting areas with tables and stools to work at; they are actually alleyways along which there are work alcoves with flexible walls, so you can easily adapt a workspace. Each niche, each wall has a different finish, with concrete, wood or graffiti. In the coffee bar you can get together."

Yuval Herrmann, Milan Bergh and Ivan Baartmans on the roof of Diemerhof 32.

Virtually nothing will change in the appearance of the building. The existing entrance will have a cube-shaped addition and will provide access only to the office area. On the other side of the building there will be a glass elevator shaft as access to the hotel floors. The rooms will be more luxurious than in the existing VIA Hotel. Bergh: "They include 26 suites with air conditioning, a bathroom and a kitchenette, also suitable for longer stays for families and the business market. Rooms with a homely atmosphere, the colors are also a bit more chic."

A room in the hotel section of Diemerhof 32.

VIA Village
What makes construction challenging is that at the start, not everything was already fixed. "During construction, the design process continued," says Ivan Baartmans, project manager at Van Wijnen, the company that also carried out the renovation of the first VIA Hotel. "There was no thick script ready at the start, the architect had to provide us with information at the right time as we went along. All partners involved have to be prepared for that, because it requires a great deal of flexibility from them." Milan Bergh: "I know few construction companies that dare to do that, but we always came out well."

Recently, VIA purchased a third office building, the adjacent office tower of Generali. The VIA Works formula will also be applied here, creating the VIA Village, according to Herrmann. "The whole thing will soon form a kind of village, with numerous amenities, with public and private spaces, where a community can emerge. An area where an exchange is created between users. A mix of functions where everyone benefits."