Bronckhorst City Hall
Bronckhorst City Hall
Bronckhorst City Hall
Sustainable and part of the landscape
The landscape as the starting point of the design
The new town hall is a clearly organized building that, in terms of character and formal language, is inspired by the surrounding Gelderland meadow landscape: a combination of gently rolling fields and an angular plot with curved lines. The building consists of two parallel office wings that nod slightly outward. These wings have an uneven height, and the roofs are also slightly sloped. Between the two curved facades lies the central public hall, which connects the building; outside, the landscape continues to this hall. The windows have shutters, which provide a subtle play of light and shadow on the façade. A relief designed by artist Jaap Drupsteen, based on landscape photos, has been applied to the shutters.
A transparent public building
Between the two building wings lies the heart of the town hall, the central public hall, which provides access to public areas such as the Council Chamber and the restaurant. Glass fronts, large windows and walkways offer views of the landscape, with views of tree groups and monumental farms. The Council Chamber also has an almost transparent exterior, so that the council members look out for the community they are responsible for; at the same time, this open plan literally ensures' transparent 'governance, because passers-by have a view of the Council Chamber. And large windows have been incorporated not only to the outside, but also to the public hall. On special occasions, the wall to the hall can even be fully opened: public administration is taken very literally here.
'The most energy-efficient town hall in the Netherlands'
Bronckhorst has not only received a light, open and transparent town hall, but also one that is sustainable and extremely energy efficient. At the time of commissioning, the building was even the most energy-efficient town hall in the Netherlands, with an average GPR score of 8.2 and a GreenCalc score of 234 — and the highest achievable GreenCalc Label A+. The guiding principle behind the design was 'passive building' as much as possible. A striking example of this are the shutters, which are intended to keep out excess solar heat, so that the building does not heat up too much during the day. What is innovative is that they can close at night and thus retain the heat inside the building. Another advantage is CO2 controlled ventilation, which never goes further than to one third of the minimum. By building “passively”, we achieved an EPQ of 0.36 with the Bronckhorst town hall - which means that energy consumption is only 36% compared to the standard according to the building decree.
A landscape designed for more-than-people
The basic principle behind the landscape design is to 'land' the town hall in the existing meadows. In this way, the connection with the environment is as natural and neutral as possible. The landscape continues to the facades of the building: the sheep graze in front of the windows.
The town hall is accessed via a slightly sloped forecourt that runs like a driveway to the entrance; visitors park along this. For employees, there is a sunken car park on the west side of the building, between the trees; this sunken location ensures that there is always a view of the meadows. Existing height differences are accentuated, so that the building is located on a hill. This hill is used to drain rainwater from the roof to lower wadis. The transition between building, meadow and nature is softened by planting different types of trees; with these tree species, we have also created a foraging area for the little owl, a protected - and endangered - bird that lives in the area.
An interior with Scandinavian allure
The interior has received a lot of attention, from the public hall and the council chamber to the rooms for mayor and aldermen and the two office wings. The materials used - yellow-white brick, blond wood and lots of glass - are light, natural and coordinated as much as possible, while we made choices for the furniture as sustainable as possible. This creates a beautiful ensemble of Scandinavian simplicity and allure. One of the highlights of the interior design is the headwood floor in the central hall; in the center of this hall, near the public counters, is also a long “regular table” that is used as a waiting area, informal workplace and meeting place for residents of the Municipality of Bronckhorst.
The New Way of Working
The two wings house the offices, furnished in accordance with The New Way of Working. The interior is designed as an open workplace with a variety of workplaces: communication workplaces and administrative workplaces are alternated with closed concentration workplaces; we also developed hybrid workplaces where you can work in groups, or that can be used as a concentration workplace. To ensure that this multitude of workplaces remains organized at the same time, we have rolled out clear zoning; in addition, we have looked for a gradual transition from dynamic zones to quiet zones, in order to prevent noise pollution.
Within this office landscape, we designed several “living rooms”, as an informal meeting place. These home makers are recognisable by their kitchen tables, coat racks and their message board for birth cards — and appear to be an important landmark and welcome place to get together.
