we create places
... that aim to change the way people shop, work, eat or relax for the better
Want to know how we do it?
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Want to know how we do it?
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strategically driven,
identity based
and creatively led
work
stories
A new base in Sili-Kontich Valley, Belgium
After the great success of the new State-of- the- Art AFAS HQ in Leusden, we have been fully focused on translating the design to the new Headquarters across the border in Kontich. May 20, 2022 marks the official opening.
→ lees meerA great goodbye
After many years of creating and managing our great agency, Freek Claessens and Hans Erdmann withdrew from Claessens Erdmann's activities 1,5 years ago.
The festive season was shut down during Covid for quite a while and finally, last weekend we celebrated with our team The Best of Goodbyes!
→ lees meerA vibrant ecosystem in the city | Antwerp
Antwerp is one of Marloes' favourite cities. She visits it at least once a year. A city with a rich past, worldly influences and raw edges that continues to renew itself. Since a few years, 't Groen Kwartier has been added to her favourite spots such as Het Eilandje, Park Spoor Noord, Kloosterstraat, Kammenstraat and Dageraadplaats. Up until the 1990s, this was the site of the Military Hospital. The city of Antwerp bought the site at the beginning of this century and has since developed it into a green living and working environment with wonderful meeting places.
A real must-go in 't Groen Kwartier is PAKT, an initiative of creative entrepreneurs and city farmers, who together form a vibrant ecosystem in, on and around the roof farm and renovated warehouses. A mix of around 25 businesses have set up shop on the PAKT site. Chefs, brewers, coffee roasters, sports enthusiasts, creative and sustainable entrepreneurs. Around 100 people (roof farmers) from the neighbourhood grow their own vegetables and herbs on the roofs. These local products are used in PAKT's catering outlets, but also in many other places in Antwerp.
https://www.pakt-antwerpen.be/
→ lees meerinsights
From yellow ATMs to white bank branches
Last week, the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported that the coronavirus crisis is forcing banks to close even more branches and banks such as ING and Rabobank are planning to reduce branch numbers quickly. Many of the bank offices that were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 restrictions won't resume operations.
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Design for the interim normal
Over the past few weeks, we have posted photographs by colleague and photographer Judith based on the theme 'retail and hospitality in coronavirus times'. The photos explore how retail and hospitality are dealing with the measures to contain the spread of coronavirus and, in particular, how they are communicated and implemented. The photo series showed some fun and inspiring solutions, but also more than that.
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Isn't it time to rethink and reform the concept of shopping streets?
We develop concepts for, among other things, shopping streets. This is a big part of what we do. However, sometimes we visit places where people seem to cling to idea of the archetypal shopping street. The idea of a shopping street as a place for leisure, where you can stroll from shop to shop looking for a new outfit, stop for a coffee or snatch up a gift.
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Different, not less
The editors of Nieuwsuur have recently made a tour of the largest corporate employers in the Netherlands. It appears that more than half of the companies foresee a decrease in the need for office space. After Covid, the expectation is that we will continue to work from home more often. Before Covid, employees visited the office for an average of four or five days. After the pandemic, this is anticipated to be about two to three days. The rest of the week employees work at home or, for example, at a client's location. The companies surveyed, including Capgemini Group, AEGON Netherlands, and consultancy firm Arcadis, expect a reduction in the demand for office space of 20% to 50% as a result.
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