An architectural highlight in Venlo

Frost Service Venlo

Since 2014, Driessen Architectuur has been working on a wide variety of projects. This included working on the new distribution center of Frost Service Venlo, in close cooperation with its client and the Municipality of Venlo. A huge building on a high visibility location, and thus a great challenge to take care of all interests. Founder and architect Johan Driessen of Driessen Architectuur tells all about this special project.

Frost Service Venlo freezes and stores soft fruit. The company had a location in Venlo, but there were no expansion opportunities there. With that expansion need, the company set to work on a new building that not only meets its current expansion, but also provides space for the next five years.

Colors, light and volumes

The Municipality of Venlo set the bar high, says Driessen, who was allowed to work on the project. The building is located on Greenport Lane, an important road for Venlo in a prime location. And so the municipality made demands on the exterior. "We tried to reduce the large volume with use of color. That way the attention does not go directly to the huge building." 

He continues: "You can control a lot with colors: the bottom of the office is black, for example, so that it seems to float." Driessen also played with the horizontal and vertical elements in the architecture. "The office is a kind of point at the distribution center; we lifted it up, so to speak, so that you look straight at it. It has really become an eye-catcher. The three constructive struts at the entrance form three Vs, not entirely coincidentally also the letters of Venlo soccer club VVV. That started as a joke, but people in Venlo find that a nice detail to see." 

In addition, the community asked for a lighting plan around the building to give it more character. "In Frost Service's logo is an ice crystal. We used that theme for the building: we also reflected the logo in the building, one of the big eye-catchers. This is where architecture, advertising and media come together." 

Building in the cold

The biggest challenge at Frost Service Venlo? "Here things are stored at very low temperatures. You have to deal with big temperature differences. For construction, you have to take that into account: freezing temperatures have an impact on the building." For example, this cold store has underfloor heating. That seems counterintuitive, agrees Driessen. "But it is necessary to ensure that the coolness that is in the space does not get under the floor. Otherwise the ground freezes and the floors rise."

That specialized knowledge did not come out of the blue: Driessen joined forces with the contractor. "We are naturally experienced in the utilitarian construction of internal logistics and related processes. For us, the technology behind a cold store was new, so we worked closely with the contractor. The latter offered us insights, such as data on how things shrink."