Rabobank Eindhoven

New shoes for a White Lady

The “Witte Dame”, or White Lady, is a building everyone in Eindhoven is familiar with. It is a perfect example of the pre-war New Objectivity style and the place where, far into the last century, Philips made the product that made them world-famous: light bulbs. It is now home to, among others, the Rabobank on the ground floor – in the shoes of the White Lady as it were. The interior of this branch (850 m2) was totally refurbished in only two weeks. 

New Objectivity

“In the Rabobank interior, we’re creating a transparent effect,” says Peter Bouw, interior architect at Eindhoven-based architects Odeon. “We’ve achieved that by basing the design on free-standing utility elements. And because the closed utility units, such as the consulting and team rooms, were given glass walls, that enhances the transparent and thus clear character of the interior still more.” 

Impossibly short

Rabobank wanted the layout to be extremely functional, but with the whole thing looking “fresh & fruity”. And the entire project had to be finished in two weeks because that was as long as they could close for,” adds Peter. "That is extremely short, impossibly short in fact. So off in search of an interiors builder that dares to, and can, take it on. Gielissen emerged as the best from the tender.” 

It was certainly a challenge, but we succeeded. From demolition and dismantling work to laying the poured floor in multiple layers. And, of course, we built all the interior elements – on time.