The government building at Rijnstraat 8 is situated directly opposite The Hague Central Station. Upon its completion in 1992, it was regarded as a pioneering example of modern office architecture. Twenty-five years later, however, the building no longer offered the flexibility and openness required of a contemporary office complex. Consequently, Rijnstraat 8 underwent a comprehensive refurbishment in 2017.
Rijnstraat 8 used to house the Ministry of Housing. Since the refurbishment in July 2017, it has been home to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and the Environment, as well as the headquarters and service centre of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service.
Ellen van Loon of the architectural firm OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture), who redesigned the entire building, created an office complex that facilitates flexible working practices whilst requiring less office space. LED lighting is used throughout the building. The lobby, for example, is illuminated by, amongst other things, several Ringo Star LED pendant lights with a 5-metre diameter from Lightnet.
One of the most important conference rooms in the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the ‘Grote zaal’. It is one of the new building’s landmarks and its design is reminiscent of the former Van Kleffens Hall in the old Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ceiling is the room’s visual highlight. Its design echoes elements of the floor. For instance, the globe on the ceiling matches the one on the floor in both appearance and size, whilst the light line encircling the globe forms a counterpart to the conference table.
The approximately 38-metre-long, oval-shaped light line consists of a Liquid Line Structure in RAL 7047, suspended from the ceiling, with LED boards capable of delivering up to 3,000 lm/m. The luminaire body of the Liquid Line consists of an extruded aluminium profile that has been pre-bent at the factory – this means that individual and even more complex shapes, such as the oval shape of the light installation in the ‘Grote zaal’, can be realised without any difficulty
