Case Study
Mendix
To grow up to 7,000m² on the Maas River
Time for a more ‘grown-up’ location
We were still situated inside a building on Westzeedijk that was a bit student-like when I began working at Mendix”, said Wesley van Wijngaarde, Director of Legal and Business Practices. "It was right next to the Salvation Army, so there was never a dull moment. We decided to move because we outgrew that location and needed space for more workstations. We were also ready to embrace a building with a more professional appearance”.
Maturing alongside the Erasmus Bridge
Mendix moved to the former SMIT TAK building on Willemskade, situated right next to the Erasmus Bridge. "It’s the most beautiful place in Rotterdam," said Van Wijngaarde. "The office itself was also beautiful inside, with many open spaces, glass walls, a roof terrace and a phenomenal view over the Maas River. We employed 80 people at the time but had room for 120. We thought we could make do with that for a while”.Ready for something new faster than expected
Mendix soon had to adjust their predictions: they already rented part of the sixth floor less than two years later. That was not an ideal situation, said Van Wijngaarde. "The building was not arranged in a way that permitted an easy switch from one floor to another. Seeking each other out to develop ideas is pretty much the essence of our work.A dream office on the Maas River
Marco Clarijs, a city leader at the the CBRE Rotterdam Office, found a great opportunity for Mednix. “5,000m² of office space had become available on the opposite side of the Maas River, situated on the Kop van Zuid at the plinth of ‘De Rotterdam’ – the iconic building designed by Rem Koolhaas”, said van Wijngaarde. “It was just as great a location as Willemskade. The office was actually a little too large but suited our growth plans, so we took our chances”.
Increasing the square meterage
The time had finally come for Mendix to start working in the plinth of De Rotterdam at the end of 2018. Spanning 5 floors with around 260 employees, there was certainly enough room for growth. “However, a year later we again reached capacity in our offices” said Eveline Meurs, Director of Facilities and Office Management at Mendix. “There was an increasing need for sheltered workstations where one could isolate oneself from the dynamics of an open office environment. Fortunately, CBRE came up with a solution again”.CBRE takes the opportunity to create a 6th floor basement
CBRE suggested that we rent the floors above us, which were empty. Although that sounds logical, it really wasn’t. The floor was actually a 6-storey cellar, a strange space with lots of pillars, pipes and pylons. That’s when CBRE’s design team joined the project to help create something beautiful”.The ‘basement’ was initially established for the Research and Development department, which had the most specific needs within Mendix. Meurs said “The R&D team needed space to brainstorm and scrum, with the ability to flexibly reorganize whiteboards and furniture within the space. However, they also needed quiet areas where they could perform focused tasks. We incidentally have plans to use the floor for other purposes now”.
Unmistakably Mendix
Mendix’s different needs within the company can be compared to the two hemispheres of the brain –one half is structured and analytical; the other half is creative and intuitive. That division became the jump-off point for the interior design, which even included an in-house jungle.A wide staircase was built in the middle of the room in order to connect the two floors. “It comes upstairs in the bar, where we can lunch and have drinks together. That means you immediately walk into the liveliest part of the office from below. CBRE’S designers really managed to give a Mendix look and feel to that bare sixth floor. It was special how that they made the connection with the floor below”.
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