The Buildings and their Topology

City Nord was designed as a business park for administrative headquarters, chiefly of large businesses. A clause in the purchase contract required clients to enter an architectural competition. They had to aim for the best possible quality without too restrictive guidelines. Accordingly, standardized building specifications were waived.

The freedom of architectural expression led to distinctive, individual buildings that some companies made use of to project their corporate image. British Petroleum (BP), for example, developed a design based on the hexagonal form of a benzene ring. A prominent feature of the times was a new workplace format, the open-plan office, which was fully implemented for the first time in the B.P. building. There was a simultaneous development towards high-technology and full air-conditioning
Subsequent owners however, were no longer contractually bound to enter competitions.