City Hall
Den Helder
Architects: Office Winhov Van Hoogevest Architecten // Project Size: 6,800 m² // Completion: 2023 // Awards: Archello Awards - Jury winner adaptive reuse of the year & jury winner Government Building of the year, Herengracht Industry Prize 2024, BNA Best Building of the Year - Stimulating Environments, NRP Golden Phoenix, Arie Keppler, Architectenweb Awards - Public Building
In September 2023, the new city hall of Den Helder opened on the Willemsoord Naval Shipyard. This new 'House of the City' was realized in two old warehouses on the naval shipyard.
Preserving the cultural-historical value of these historic buildings in their maritime environment was an important starting point for the design. Establishing the city hall on the naval shipyard provided a major impulse to consolidate the area as a characteristic part of the city. In this transformation, two historic buildings, the neoclassical mast storage warehouse and the post-war sailmaking workshop, were redesigned into an ensemble of two distinctive administrative buildings.
Building 72 and Building 66
The shipyard, built by order of Napoleon, had been the site of the Royal Navy since 1822 and part of the Den Helder fortress. The 40-hectare imperial shipyard was always a closed area. This only changed in 1995 when the Royal Navy exchanged the imperial shipyard for the New Harbor.
Building 72, the former sailmaking workshop from 1949, is a recognizable landmark of nautical activities on the shipyard. The new workspaces are arranged around an atrium in the heart of the building. For this design, the characteristic concrete skeleton was the starting point. The originally pragmatic design of the facades was replaced with a transparent execution that expresses the public character of the building.
Building 66, a mast storage warehouse from 1826, is a national monument. The building forms the connection between the southern quay and the central area of the shipyard. The monumental wooden roof construction defines the character of the indoor street, along which the citizen service counters, council chamber, wedding hall, and conference center are arranged.
Construction with Respect for History
In the mast warehouse, the special wooden supporting structure catches the eye. This consists of braced supports under a purlin roof. New skylights make the monumental wooden construction visible again, including the names of the shipyard workers who once worked here written on the wood. Where possible, the walls were placed separately from the original wooden structure. The panels are color-matched to the coastal palette and have an acoustic function.
All installations are carefully hidden in the floors and hollow walls of the mast warehouse. The sailmaking workshop has a distinctive concrete skeleton from its origins. This has now been fitted with a new, high-quality steel facade with large windows.
Future-Proof
Great emphasis was placed on sustainability in the redesign of both buildings. The new city hall is equipped with its own thermal energy storage system. Additionally, the roof of the sailmaking workshop is completely covered with solar collectors. Furthermore, both buildings were provided with optimized insulation, as far as possible while maintaining their heritage values. The sailmaking workshop is thus an energy-neutral building.
Scope of services: Structural engineering, Geotechnics
Photos: Stefan Müller and Max Hart Nibbrig
