This week the editorial offices of the AD acquired spacious new accommodation in Central Post, a former post office in the centre of Rotterdam. The interior designer Liesbeth Swinnen from BULO, the Belgium office furniture makers, took charge of the design of the editorial offices. She talks of a ‘dream assignment’ due to the great potential offered by the building on the Delftsplein, a place where billions of postal items have been sorted over the years.

The design
“I looked for the link between this building and the AD”, tells Swinnen. “A newspaper has a linear pattern, a rhythm. The columns on the page form a grid. That play of lines is reflected in the design. Producing a newspaper is a creative pursuit so the serene, sleek design should encourage an open-mindedness and the large window sections provide an overwhelming amount of daylight. ”

Done with power failures
No less than 54 kilometres of data cables have been integrated in the building. The newspaper’s production will no longer be at risk during power failures, which have recently become a particular nuisance for the AD.  Plan@Office, who was responsible for the renovations, hoisted a second hand emergency generator onto the roof of the building to avoid this problem.

Cost savings
The new building may seem like an expensive joke but in fact cost savings will be made. The consolidation of the national and regional editorial offices means that two expensive premises in the Alexanderpolder and Rotterdam city centre can be discarded.  “We will be paying considerably less rent over the next fifteen years,’’ says business editor Bart Verkade.