The new Holland Casino Venlo in the Netherlands, designed by MVSA Architects, has opened. The landmark building unites imaginative parametric architecture and cradle-to-cradle design with an optimal user experience. Its flower-shaped, sculptural design makes it a new icon for the city of Venlo. The building employs sustainability principles like natural ventilation, solar energy collection, and rainwater harvesting.

1. MVSA
Architects
Holland Casino
Venlo

2. Facade East
Holland Casino Venlo, a sustainable flower-shaped icon
by MVSA Architects, has opened its doors. The landmark
building unites imaginative parametric architecture and
cradle-to-cradle design with a magical user experience.
MVSA’s lead architect on the project, Wouter Thijssen,
says: “We are very proud of this iconic and sustainable
building. We wish Holland Casino every success with it and
we hope every visitor will enjoy an unforgettable experience
in this fantastic new casino.”
Holland Casino Venlo
2 — MVSA

3. Holland Casino Venlo
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Iconic Architecture
The new Holland Casino Venlo unites
imaginative architecture, state-of-the-art
sustainability and optimal user experience in
one seamless concept.
The spectacular design for a flower-shaped, sculptural building is the
new landmark for the City of Venlo. Behind its show-stopping good
looks, it embodies two major design principles: sustainability, and
optimizing the user experience.
From a distance, this unique building is highly visible, appearing as a
kind of welcoming gateway to the Netherlands. The colour-changing
interactive façade provides a breath taking light show during the
darker hours, while emphasizing the casino’s flower-shaped structure.
3 — MVSA

4. first impression counts
Facade Entrance from parking Entrance
The new Holland Casino is immediately
recognisable, thanks to its bold, organic
design and spectacularly interactive façade.
Located next to a major road junction, the
building offers an unforgettable experience for
passers-by as well as casino visitors.
The overall design tells one single, consistent story and portrays
Holland Casino exactly as it wants to be seen: as an integrally
designed iconic destination that is both successful and adaptable and
offers the best possible customer experience.
Holland Casino Venlo is an important calling card for the city of Venlo.
The region is gaining momentum and both the casino and the city
aspire to compete on an international level. In fact, due to its loca-
tion near the German border, the new casino serves as a gateway to
the Netherlands for its many German visitors – a good reason for its
expressive bloom-like form to nod towards the Netherlands’ famous
flower-growing tradition. Layer by layer the illuminated corolla rises
from the heart of the building and is beautifully visible from the
highway, acting as an enigmatic beacon.
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The façade is made up of a grid of glass
disks, alternating with a grid of smaller metal
elements. These have a duotone coating,
which means that the building to change
colour as the visitor moves around it.
From the road, the casino becomes a
chameleon, projecting a vibrant image during
the day thanks to its richly coloured surface.
The large glass discs are equipped with LEDs. By night they illuminate
the façade in a spectacular fashion, highlighting the flower-shaped
structure of the casino architecture. The LED façade is fully dynamic
and programmable, and can be adjusted to the different seasons and
express different themes.
An interactive building, the new casino has been fully designed for
existing and new users. Maximizing the user experience both during
the day and at night was the most important point of departure for
the design. One of the possibilities is the tailored Holland Casino app,
which allows optimal response to needs and maximises service.
Iconic Facade
5 — MVSA

6. Facade South-East
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7. Biomimicry
Like a flower the building uses natural energy sources, the wind,
rain, sun and earth
AIR Ducts
2
1
Waterwortels
Energievloer (optioneel)
Sensoren
Natural Ventilation PV
Aquifer
LBK
E-bike en E-carvoorziening
BAT corridor
rainwater
capture
Water Re-use
C2C Groengevel
Iconic facade
Solar energy
Rain-water
The concept grew out of a unified vision of
architecture and sustainability, achieving
a natural cohesion between landscape,
architecture and interior. The Biomimetric
approach was elaborated at every level of the
plan, and can be felt throughout the building.
The casino reveals itself as a giant bloom rising from the landscape.
Its flowery forms extend to the surrounding grounds, and even
beyond the borders of the plot. The roof’s enormous petals turn
toward the road, as though to the sun, showing themselves in their
full glory.
Rather than opting for a collection of sustainability solutions the
design is a total concept that includes the identity of Holland Casino
and embraces the cradle-to-cradle ambitions of Venlo’s local
government in an integrated and unifying way.
The outer spaces form the ‘soil’ in which our building grows and
provides air, water and energy. The experience created here is that of
the façade and the magical inner world. Together, the outdoor space
and buildings form a whole. The architectural design is closely inter-
twined with the integral sustainability concept. This makes Venlo’s
new venue a pioneer of sustainable C2C development.
Biomimicry
7 — MVSA

8. A Las Vegas like ‘’Porte Cochere’’ is the main entry into the building
for those that are either being dropped off or are parking in the two
adjacent surface lots. The guest journey begins with the procession
leading up to the Porte Cochere. Elevated almost 4 meters above
grade, guests will either drive up a landscaped vehicular ramp or
access one of three monumental stairs leading from the parking lots.
The visitor is guided by the casino’s intuitive routing into the heart of
the building, where the design concept unfolds. The flowing organic
forms are accentuated throughout by the lighting scheme.
The heart of the flower is central to the atrium. From the stem,
a structure of laminated wooden strips rises up to form the corolla,
the flower head, defining the appearance of the interior. An invitingly
designed central bar revolves around the flower stalk and extends
over the different levels of the building.
This bar transforms into staircases and forms the highlight of the
interior. The bar has a private seating area on the gaming-floor level
and an open seating area above, giving lively views.
Sculptural reality
8 — MVSA

9. sky
experience zone
multi-function/bingo/lounge
sea
center bar
sports bar
restaurant
land
SPACE
transfer zone
table games & slots
smoke + play slots
high limit slots
high limit table games
hybrid gaming
The interior concept was developed together
with interior designer firm Gensler, from Las
Vegas. Important themes for Gensler – land,
sky and sea – return in this concept and are
expanded with the themes sun, rain and wind.
Land: The building rises from a landscape in which the parking areas
form the petals of the flower. The boundaries of the parking areas
flow from the smooth lines of the building. In this way, the building is
inextricably connected to the site.
Sky: The wooden construction forming the roof is visible in the heart
of the building and forms a sculptural starry sky at night.
Sea: The traditionally crafted main supporting structure refers to the
Netherlands’ shipbuilding heritage.
Sun, rain and wind: Rainwater is collected in the ‘calyx’ of the flower-
shaped roof for the grey-water system of the building. The roof is
covered with PV film, which converts light into electricity.
The flower-shaped lighting sculptures in the parking areas not only
catch the sun, but also the wind, providing fresh air and ventilation
for the building.
Land, sea, sky
9 — MVSA

10. Center Bar
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11. `Kitchen
Slot Games
Slot Games
Exit
Reception / wardrobe
Porte Cochere
Transfer Zone
Dgital Portals
Hybrid Gaming
Table Games
Center Bar
High Limit Area
Luxury Dining
Poker Room
Sports Bar
First Floor
The programmatic relationships within the
Holland Casino Venlo are critical to creating
a high level of energy within the casino
and activating the spaces that one would
encounter along their journey.
The welcoming and spacious entrance area contains the consultation
rooms and wardrobe that flank the main entry ramp leading into the
casino. The ramp leading into the casino is flanked by ‘’digital por-
tals’’. The colour schemes of these digital portals are matched with
the colours of the iconic facade of the Casino.
The Center Bar is located on axis with the Transfer Zone to highlight
the flowering Center Bar feature. Surrounding the Center Bar is a
continuous gaming floor composed of zones for table games and slot
machines. Like the leaves of a flower, the other functions of the Ca-
sino are organized around the sculptural center bar and main gaming
floor. In the outer perimeter we successively find the poker room,
a sports bar, the highlimit area, cash registers and a luxurious res-
taurant. Each area is uniquely defined by a rich palette of materials,
creating a welcoming atmosphere.
On the second floor public spaces are interconnected by a series of
skybridges which allow for the upper level activities to be seen from
the gaming floor. This vertical interconnectedness creates a spacious
dimension to the Casino and reinforces the idea of ascension through
one’s journey.
Programmatic Layout
11 — MVSA

12. BOH areas
Void
Online Gaming
Multifunctionaal Room
Bar
Experience Zone
Skybridges
Skybridges
Center Wood Structure
Meeting rooms
Void
Office area
BOH restaurant
Second Floor
The programmatic relationships within the
Holland Casino Venlo are critical to creating
a high level of energy within the casino
and activating the spaces that one would
encounter along their journey.
On the second floor public spaces are interconnected by a series of
skybridges
which allow for the upper level activities to be seen from the gaming
floor. This vertical interconnectedness creates a spacious dimension
to the Casino and reinforces the idea of ascension through one’s
journey.
Programmatic Layout
12 — MVSA

13. LX Fine dining
13 — MVSA

14. High Limit Area
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15. Transfer Zone
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16. Facade South
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17. Credit List
Holland Casino Venlo
Architect
MVSA Architects, Amsterdam
Lead Architect: Wouter Thijssen
MEP, Structural Design and Engineering, Building Physics & Acoustics
Arcadis
Cradle to Cradle & Sustainability Concept
MVSA - Arcadis
Concept Designer - Interior
Gensler, Las Vegas
Landscape Architecture
MVSA Architects, Arcadis, R’odor
Project & contract management
Brink, Rotterdam
Contractor
Laudy Bouw en Ontwikkeling bv
Subcontractor Mechanical Services and Installations
Croon Wolter & Dros
Façade Construction
Sorba Projects B.V.
Interactive LED Facade
Livingprojects B.V.
Landscape Contractor
De Enk Groen en Golf
Gross floor area
9.899 m2
Gross floor area urban design
28.000 m²
Start design
2017
Start construction
2019
Completion
2021
roof structure
17 — MVSA