Overview
Achieving both BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore certifications, the Philips Global Headquarters exemplifies what the contemporary best-in-class office building can be. This week let us explore this unique building and find out what role stainless steel plays in it.
Philips Global Headquarters
Philips Global Headquarters is located at Prinses Irenestraat 59, Zuidas, Amsterdam in Netherlands, for which, it is also known as the PI59 office building, or simply PI59. Sitting squarely on the transition zone with 18 meters at its highest point, it serves as a natural bridge between the high-rise corporate skyscrapers of the Zuidas district and the low-rise residential area of Oud-Zuid.
Completed in April 2024 and occupied by Philips in the spring of 2025, PI59 is a low-rise office building that covers an area of 22500 square meters spread over its 6 floors. The building is 100 meters long and 40 meters deep with various places protruded. Wellbeing oriented, PI59 is also equipped with parking facilities for 400 bikes and a semi-underground parking lot sufficient to accommodate 80 cars. Above the car parking is greenery and basketball court.
Background Information of Philips Global Headquarters
In early 2025, Philips relocated its Amsterdam headquarters from Breitnertoren to PI59, marking that the refurbished property was brought back to its original function as an office, with a brand-new look different from its predecessor.
PI59 was one of the oldest buildings in Zuidas, completed in 1970S with the prestigious accountancy firm KPMG as its first tenant, followed by the law firm NautaDutilh. Since 2003, it had been occupied by the Amsterdam International Community School (AICS), but the school moved away to some new place in A.J. Ernststraat in 2021.
Change of tenant thus paved way for the redevelopment of PI59 as an office building again. The redevelopment was conducted by G&S& and commissioned by Nuveen Real Estate (Zuidas 2026). As early as 2020, V8 Architects had been engaged in the design. It was not until late September 2022 after the demolition works were finished the construction was literally commenced. It took roughly 18 months to finish the construction (Lindner Group 2026), with the project delivered within time, budget and the best possible quality (V8 Architects 2026).
The Design of Philips Global Headquarters
Aimed for BREEAM Excellent, WiredScore, RE/DEFINE and Net Zero Carbon certifications, V8 Architects chose to revitalize the old building rather than knock it down and rebuild a new one on the site. The goal was to create a sustainable, green and innovative office, best in its possible way, in a green strip shared by so many neighborhood buildings.
The delivery proves to be “a villa in a garden” (V8 Architects 2026), with the old building reinterpreted in a modern and brand-new way that echoes Philips philosophy and culture, “transparency, connectedness, people-orientedness, sustainability and innovation” (Philips 2026).
Checking in detail, the original structure is kept intact to reduce CO2 emissions associated with new construction for optimal energy efficiency. While it pays homage to the brutalist architectural DNA of its predecessor, the new building doesn’t compromise on creativity and inspiration. Instead, it carries brutalism in a refined and elegant way.
The heavy concreate facade is replaced with transparent windows, which introduces natural daylight in and gives multi-dimensional views of its green surroundings. Unlike the previous cases, polished concrete with additional natural stone rather than metal frames the windows. The façade is not a traditional stainless-steel-glass combination, which makes it quite unique in contemporary buildings. The addition of bronze element also increases tints of elegance and refinedness of the building. What’s more, three different atria further enhance the effect of natural light and views.
Stainless Steel Applied in Philips Global Headquarters
Since neither the façade nor the structure is made from stainless steel, where it can be used in the building? That’s how we move to the interior of the building, which is also another reason why we choose the case. Very smart and elegant design inside as well!
Apart from the stainless steel application, the helical stairs add so much distinctiveness and elegance to the interior of the building. Whether in terms of the shape or the color, they break the dullness of traditional office inside settings. The curved lines bring softness to the space, and the white color brings a sense of lightness without losing the solemnity. The color-tunable LED channels embedded add more details to the whole design. While the multi-story atrium brings light, the helical stairs create light. They work together to lighten up the whole working environment.
The pair of helical stairs are fabricated from powder-coated steel plate, while the handrails are made from brushed stainless steels for durability (EeStairs 2026). These combined materials create visual hierarchy while meeting the designed functions. Despite the limited use of stainless steel in this building, stainless steel tubes and stainless steel bars are quite commonly used as handrails by themselves in a broad sense. Stainless steel is aesthetically appealing, able to retain color and shape in time, as well as free from maintenance requirements.
Stainless Steel Bars & Tubes from CIVMATS China
While stainless steel flat materials like stainless steel plate sheet coil strip are frequently used in the contemporary buildings, colossal in volume and scale, justified by the same application introduced in so many cases previously, we are trying to bring out something different and novel while tapping the potential of stainless steel markets.
If you are looking in China for stainless steel bars or/and tubes, round, square or rectangular (flat bar in terms of bar) to make handrails, as in the case of Philips Global Headquarters, welcome to CIVMATS. We also produce in house quality stainless steel wires & ropes for your multiple options. For stainless steel materials from China, CIVMATS aspire to be your top choice. Choose CIVMATS, choose reliability and safety in China.
