World Wildlife Fund Headquarters, Zeist, Netherlands

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) was established in 1952 and has expanded its staff of devoted employees in the recent years. WWF Headquarters in Zeist was built by the design of famous architect Thomas Rau. Construction works began in 2003 and were completed in 2006. The building is dubbed a symbol of “avant-garde greenness”. Rau made a decision to reuse an old two-story construction of a former agricultural laboratory. According to the philosophy of the famous architect, “a building has a personality”. He and his team made some changes in the initial plan of the building, by demolishing the main part of the former laboratory and relocating the entrance, adding a capillary system of heating and cooling, installing triple-glazed windows and creating a new construction which unites the two wings of the original laboratory. The façade of the building does not let in direct sunlight in summer. The inner climate of the building is controlled by mechanical and natural ventilation systems. The former is also responsible for extracting the used air from the building. The main contractor of the project was Van Zoelen Utrecht.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.building.am