MVRDV breathes new life into the Dijon mustard laboratory

The City of Dijon and Teletech have today named MVRDV as the winner of the competition for the refurbishment of the building. Built in 2004 and closed by Unilever in 2009, the Moutardes de Dijon laboratory was in need of a new lease of life. The premises were designed as a laboratory and therefore have large, open volumes (the building measures 70 metres by 40), which put its future use in doubt. The building is also recent and in good condition, and the budget for the refurbishment is too small to allow for major alterations.

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The employees of the Teletech call centre who will occupy the building will only be there in full numbers at peak times. The spaces are not suited to standard offices occupied for eight or nine hours at a stretch. The MVRDV architects drew on the way young people tend to use their laptops on a sofa or in bed. It was with this in mind that the practice designed flexible spaces in which the roughly 600 employees can settle. During quieter periods, staff will be able to make use of areas for relaxing and meeting, and a training centre and a gallery are also planned.

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Call centres are not known for being restful places. By marking out quiet areas and providing armchairs and cushions as places to work, MVRDV creates a soothing working environment. The furniture is arranged in a playful way, and this sense of ease should translate into better listening skills. Employees will be able to plug in wherever they like. Large openings and rooflights are intended to bring daylight deep into the building. Some spaces will extend over two levels, giving a sense of community.

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With the budget tight, the façade will remain unchanged, with a print applied to it to convey the company's activities. The ground floor lies in a flood risk zone and cannot be fitted out as offices, so it will remain a car park. The Rotterdam practice sees "this transformation as an exemplary project of contemporary European architecture in the current time of crisis. How can a building whose structure is in good condition, but which is unsuited to traditional conversion and use, be reused? The more of the existing building that can be reused, the more of the budget is freed up for interventions. The unusual building suggests an unusual use and in the end will fit Teletech's working rhythm perfectly."

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