Building Blocks

A bank whose workers don't want to go home ― A creek runs through it ― Green buildings and bright workers ― Just rewards and perverse incentives ― Windows, light, and air Every building a forecast ― Harvesting bananas in the Rockies ― Urban forests ― Walkable cities

IN SOUTHEASTERN AMSTERDAM. AT A SITE CHOSEN BY THE WORKERS BECAUSE of its proximity to their homes stands the headquarters of a major bank. Built in 1987, the 538,000-square-foot complex consists of ten sculptural towers linked by an undulating internal street. Inside, the sun reflects off colored metal ― only one element in the extensive art―work that decorates the structure ― to bathe the lower stories in ever-changing hues. Indoor and outdoor gardens are fed by rainwater captured from the bank's roof. Every office has natural air and natural light. Heating and ventilation are largely passive, and no conventional air conditioners are used. Conservatively attired bankers playfully trail their fingers in the water that splashes down flow-form sculptures in the bronze handrails along the staircases. The building's occupants are demonstrably pleased with their new quarters: Absenteeism is down 15 percent, productivity is up, and workers hold numerous evening and weekend cultural and social events there.

These results surpassed even the directors' vision of the features, qualities, and design process they had mandated for their bank. Their design prospectus had stipulated an "organic" building that would "integrate art, natural and local materials, sunlight, green plants, energy conservation, quiet, and water" ― not to mention happy employees ― and that would "not cost one guilder more per square meter" than the market average. In fact, the money spent to put the energy savings systems in place paid for itself in the first three months. Upon initial occupancy, the complex used 92 percent less energy than an adjacent bank constructed at the same time, representing a saving of $2.9 million per year and making it one of the most energy-efficient buildings in Europe.  

Architect Ton Alberts took three years to complete the design of the building. It took so long mainly because the bank board insisted that all participants in the project, including employees, understand its every detail: The air-handling design had to be explained to the landscape architect, for example, and the artwork to the mechanical engineers. In the end, it was this level of integration that contributed to making the building so comfortable, beautiful, and cost-effective. When it was done, the structure became the most readily recognized in all Holland after the Parliament House. Since the headquarters building was completed, the bank that was then called NMB has gained a dynamic new public image and corporate culture, though whether this is directly related to the new building's design is impossible to prove. It has grown from the fourth- to the second-largest bank in Holland, changed its name to ING, and bought the venerable English merchant bank Barings.