Integral design
Following the announcement of the arrival of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Amsterdam, various parties have been working on the aesthetic quality of the new head office to be built in the Zuidas business district. OKRA was asked for the design of the ‘landscape ribbon’, which consists of the ground level, a roof garden and a green wall.

Landscape ribbon
The rigid architecture of the new building is softened by a green structure that moves like a lush ribbon around and through the building. The organic pattern is accentuated by high-quality lineation through stainless steel accent lines. The lush roof garden and vertical garden in the atrium follow the organic patterns of the entrance, as a result of which outside and inside are interwoven.

Spectacular vertical garden
The major eye-catcher in the landscape ribbon is the vertical garden in the atrium of the building, with a spectacular size of 21 metres wide and no less than 60 metres high, and containing more than 52,000 plants. This green wall has a three-dimensional sculptural character that emphasises the lushness of the landscape ribbon.