knowledge centre At the start of the new millennium, Philips Semiconductors (now NXP) wanted to expand its current production and research site in Nijmegen by creating a new knowledge centre for the development of semiconductors. The existing production site is sealed off and fenced in for security reasons, yet the new knowledge centre, where technology, science, culture, work, living and leisure come together, encourages encounters and collaboration among diverse parties. The name of the complex refers to the site’s 52nd degree of latitude, which like the ambition of its initiators, spans the entire world. Not only the name, but also the building’s figure must illustrate this ambition.
link FiftyTwoDegrees is the first phase of a large-scale master plan surrounding the Neerbosscheweg. The 86-metre tall tower rises from a second sloped ground level and is thereby fluidly and dynamically absorbed into the surrounding Goffert Park. The second phase will see this second ground level overarch the Neerbosscheweg, creating a direct link with the city, the Goffert stadium and the new Goffert light rail station. Under the grassed roof are parking spaces for six hundred cars, various commercial facilities and a covered plaza with shops and restaurants. Conference rooms, a theatre, a hotel, sports facilities and shops are due to be added to the complex in the second phase.
kink The lower eight floors of the seventeen storey tower are ten degrees out of plumb, creating an inviting gesture towards the city. The bent form is made possible by the hybrid construction of concrete and steel, and for each intermediate floor the facade shifts in relation to the concrete cores. In order to shorten the construction time - one floor per week - it was decided to use prefabricated cladding in a pattern of pixels that gives the facade an abstract appearance. A broad staircase leads to the reception hall with its conspicuously curved wooden benches. The undulating wall clad with mahogany represents a visually connecting element that automatically indicates the route through the building. The office and laboratory floors can be flexibly subdivided. Climate ceilings allow for customized work station environments to accommodate the products being developed.