La Voie office building occupied by Hanz

26-02-2015

After standing empty for some time, the La Voie office building, located at Hanzeplein in Zwolle, is once again occupied. The building is to be a breeding ground for innovation. Various businesses and organizations, including Kennispoort Regio Zwolle, have already found accommodation with a new business cluster: HANZ. The go-ahead was officially given by Eddy van Hijum, member of the Provincial Executive for Economy, Energy and Innovation of the Province of Overijssel.

Hanz sets itself apart through its active policy to link the members to each other and to each other’s networks. The layout of the La Voie office building will also be geared entirely towards meeting one another. This should result in partnerships and new products and services.

A striking feature of the La Voie office building is ‘De Kantine van Zwolle’ (the Canteen of Zwolle): a mix of different catering concepts where the business, administrative and studying target groups are able to meet and work. The Kantine fits into the concept that offers the occupants of the building every facility, such as glass fibre, the reception area, administrative office and meeting rooms.

“La Voie is not a multi-tenant business building”, says Thijs van Dieren, co-owner of City Developer-S, the company behind Hanz. “Companies and other organizations do not lease a space here because of the low square metre price. They see the added value of an open, transparent working environment which results in cooperation. Whether the companies complement each other is also taken into consideration. Not just where their activities are concerned, but also their size and age”, states Thijs van Dieren.

Hanz is backed by a partnership between the government, education and businesses. Kennispoort Regio Zwolle has established itself in La Voie as the regional driver for innovation. The Province of Overijssel wishes to combat large-scale vacancies of offices in prominent areas and has given Hanz financial support.