Dole

At Dole Packaged Foods we believe good, healthy, affordable, and delicious foods should be more like sunshine.

The various moss panels also create a relaxed and playful atmosphere where the employees of Dole can work pleasantly together at the brand new workplace.

The originally Hawaiian company Dole is known as the world’s largest fruit company. The headquarters of the perennial fruits branch has recently moved to the heart of Rotterdam on the Weena. Surrounded by all those high-rise buildings and frenzy, we created a warm work environment in collaboration with interior designer Casper Schwarz.

The design was created more or less in a pressure cooker. As it really concerned a new location of Dole, we were working on a fairly blank canvas. This had its advantages, because we did not have to carry the burden of the former location, but it also meant that we had to sort out lots, as there were relatively many wishes for the number of square metres available. What became clear very quickly was that we wanted to emphasize the contrast with the location outside and that we wanted to create an office environment where people like to come together.

For a company that is known to many people for its bananas and pineapples, it was an obvious choice to use tropical elements in the interior.

And really, there is no harm in such a tropical atmosphere in a location with many high-rise buildings and little vegetation. So we decided to use many organic materials in the design. Various (hanging) chairs were made of rattan and thanks to the wave movements in the carpet of the Danish Ege band, you really get a beach feeling.

This in turn matches nicely with the beach tent construction we created at some workplaces. The various moss panels also create a relaxed and playful atmosphere where the employees of Dole can work pleasantly together at the brand new workplace.

Photographer: Chiela van Meerwijk