Dismountable, Flexible & Reusable

Serving as the main hub of the Matrix Innovation Center, the Matrix One laboratory and office building designed by MVRDV provides the campus with key social spaces and amenities; it also pushes the envelope in sustainable design: from demountable construction, and solar energy generation to smart lighting and bicycle parking, and is certified BREEAM-Excellent.


The construction of the six-storey, 13,000-sqm Matrix ONE laboratory and office building in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, is now complete. Here, scientists and entrepreneurs work on sustainable solutions for current and future problems.


The building is designed to be demountable. Simple connections such as screws and bolts allow elements to be detached and reused when various parts of the building are updated; even the building’s floors are made using prefabricated concrete slabs with no fixed connections, allowing them to be reused at the end of the building’s lifespan. The platform Madaster provides a comprehensive material passport system to give insight into the materials and products used and the CO2 storage for over 120,000 individual components. As a result, over 90% of the building’s materials can be reused.


On the roof, 1,000 sqm of solar panels generate a portion of the building’s energy, while internet-connected lighting and heating fixtures help reduce energy consumption.


A key element of the building’s design is the large “social staircase” next to the main entrance on the building’s southern corner; it is conceptualised as a continuation of the zig-zagging paths found throughout the campus. With tribune-style seating for presentations, tables for informal meetings, and coffee stations, these stairs bring together workers from different industries, allowing them to mingle and share ideas. The interior design for this space includes lush green walls visible through the glass façade and soft felt finishes that dramatically reduce sound reverberation.

This social staircase is complemented by the building’s amenities, with a ground floor restaurant and a bar at the top of the staircase. The building also has a 100-seat auditorium.

The interior spaces and the technical installations that serve them are as flexible as possible; offices can easily be modified to become labs and vice versa, and labs can be easily upgraded with new systems to accommodate changing standards.

Matrix ONE also encourages users to lead a healthy lifestyle: the location of the social stair encourages people to use the stairs instead of the elevators, accessed via the atrium. On the rear of the building, a secondary entrance includes access to a bicycle parking facility.