The port is the leading enterprise of Antwerp: it is the second in Europe in terms of cargo turnover after Rotterdam, it employs 60,000 people (of which 8,000 are actually port workers), and in total the well-being of 150,000 citizens depends on the port. Therefore, the efficiency of the port administration is of great importance, and therefore it was an urgent need to gather all 500 of its employees under one roof (previously they were dispersed in different buildings).
The site for the new headquarters was the dock area, more precisely, the former fire station building (its function was taken over by a modern building). It was necessary to adapt it to the requirements of the office space of the XXI century, taking into account possible changes in the future. An architectural competition was announced, the only limiting condition of which was the careful handling of the fire department: it was erected in 1922 by the then chief architect of Antwerp Emil Van Averbecke and repeated the forms of the Renaissance "Hanseatic House" (Hansahuis or Osterhuis) - the representative office of the Hanseatic city that burned down at the end of the 19th century with warehouses, administrative and residential part, and in 2000 received the status of a monument.
All five participants in the competition offered to place the new part over the old one, but Zaha Hadid's project, according to the customers, turned out to be the brightest of all. The multifaceted glazed volume at the same time resembles the bow of a ship and a diamond pointing to the Scheldt River (Antwerp, the world center for cutting and trading in diamonds, is known as the "diamond city"). He is also inspired by the tower, which was at the "Hanseatic House" and was supposed to complete the fire station of Van Averbecke - but it was never erected. The placement of the extension (more precisely, the superstructure) from above reveals all four facades of the historical building, which are especially clearly visible due to its location near the water.
In memory of the author of the new headquarters of the port administration, the square in front of it was named in her honor, so the address of the building is Zaha Hadidplein 1: “Zaha Hadid Square, Building 1”.
The glazing of the new part is composed not only of transparent, but also of impervious panels, which protects the interior from excessive sunlight and heat and creates intrigue: the views of the port and the city do not open from everywhere. The spacious courtyard of the historic building has been converted into an atrium lobby with a glass roof. There is a library and reading room, set up in a former garage for fire engines. You can get to the superstructure from there by panoramic elevators, and the new and old parts are connected by an open bridge, which also serves as an observation deck.
The key rooms - the auditorium, meeting rooms and dining room - are located at the top of the firehouse and at the bottom of the superstructure, this is the "heart" of the building. The rest of the floors have been converted into open-plan offices. The port employees will use their workplaces “flexibly”, changing them depending on the current tasks: telephone conversations, requiring concentration of attention and quietness of work, business meetings.
The building claims to be a Very Good BREEAM Energy Certificate. Among the “green” components of the project are a geothermal heating and cooling system for the building (100 wells 80 m deep), an automatic lighting control system, motion sensors on mixers, waterless urinals, etc.
