The new KPMG headquarters in Amstelveen is home to Medite FR – a flame retardant MDF panel – that is helping play a leading role in creating a sustainable and user-friendly working environment for the accountancy firm.
Throughout the building there are interesting new applications of solid wood, parquet, veneer and panel material, with large Wenge or Bubinga doors combined with translucent acrylic and hung in frames of solid Bubinga and laminated Bamboo. The acoustic strip ceilings, wall panels and custom-designed furniture are all made of Medite FR MDF, finished with veneer or HPL.
The panels are manufactured by Medite Europe as part of Coillte Panel Products, a division of the Irish forest and wood products company Coillte, and they are able to harvest the wood it uses to produce the panels from its own privately-owned forests.
The ceilings in the lobby, restaurant, large meeting rooms and auditorium are made of strips of Medite FR veneered with side-pressed Bamboo coated with a clear lacquer. The strips are all 3,000mm long and 146, 210 or 284mm-wide and are applied in a set pattern.
The MDF wall panels in the auditorium are finished with a Bamboo veneer. Recessed Bubinga edging reinforces the horizontal spatial effects. The panels of the rear wall are also perforated and backed with sound absorption cloth. The 400-seat auditorium has a 20-metre screen, a control room, translation cabins and a separate entrance for performers. Guests are ushered into the inner courtyard or onto the outer terrace from the adjoining bar.
All of the MDF that Medite produces is both FSC- and CARB 2-certified. Coillte has invested more than €15M in equipping its production line with new technology and machinery to make sure all of the MDF it produces is now CARB 2-certified.
Information about Medite FR and the entire Medite MDF range can be found at www.medite-europe.com. The DVD ‘Medite FR Flame Retardant MDF’ can also be viewed and ordered online.