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PTT Post Distribution Centres

This is a project by Cepezed Architects and it is located at Multi-location, Netherlands. There are eight images for PTT Post Distribution Centres.

: © Fas Keuzenkamp

Project images

Designer's statement

Formula-based series of eighteen distribution offices for the national post service, in which the challenge primarily lay in the exceptionally low budget and the unprecedented short construction time for the whole series of buildings. The flexible and modular construction system conceived by cepezed was the only submission that satisfied all the demands and enabled all the locations in question, with their miscellaneous requirements and preconditions, to deliver tailor-made work.

The success factors for the project are simplicity of design, intelligent use of materials, careful finishing, and a streamlined construction process. Each centre has an austere, compact, and rectangular design. No money was spent on eye-catching knick-knacks. The sorting room is the heart of each office. All the other areas are arranged around this. Thus, the buildings have no corridors, which allowed considerable saving on interior walls. Moreover, this layout is extremely efficient: it keeps the running lines short and operations purposeful.

The floors and foundations are made of concrete, and they accommodate as few ducts and pipes as possible. The roof consists of large, light, and easily installed elements with insulation and premounted roof and ceiling finishing. The use of these prefab elements allowed substantial savings in material, weight, construction, time, and labour.

The façades are made of sandwich panels mounted on a steel supporting construction. Extra attention was devoted to the most conspicuous façades, which have a glass front that gives them a business-like and high-quality allure. Based on a design by the graphic designer Gerard Hadders, a characteristic dot pattern has been enamelled on the façade, and the user’s brand logo has been applied to the glass by means of retro-reflecting foil. Wherever possible, these decorative façades were installed on the short sides of the buildings to help reduce the costs.

Location: Eighteen locations throughout Netherlands
Client: PTT Vastgoed / TPG Real Estate
Gfa: 300 m2 To 3,000 m2; Total Of More Than 20,000 m2; Average 990 m2
Realization: 1999–2002
Photography: Fas Keuzenkamp