City Hall
Deventer
Architects: Neutelings Riedijk Architects // Project size: 13.500 m² GFA // Completion: 2016 // Awards: ABE Bonnema Award 2017 - Architecture, Building of the Year 2017 (BNA) - Identity & Iconic Value // Sustainability certification: BREEAM Excellent
With the new town hall complex, the municipality of Deventer is bringing an abandoned part of the city centre back to life. Whereas they were previously scattered throughout the city, the city council and all municipal services now have a common place in this special and sustainable administrative building. This is where residents, visitors and municipal staff meet. Together they shape the city community.
The town hall complex combines a listed old building with a sustainable new building: the old town hall and the new municipal office. The design by Neutelings Riedijk Architects is in the tradition of Deventer's typical urban structure of gardens and courtyards connected by paths, alleys, corridors and gates.
The project consists of two parts: The new building part covers about 13.500 square metres. The second part of the project involves the sustainable and careful design of existing historic parts. ABT took over the implementation planning as well as the project monitoring and contract management. ABT, in cooperation with the contractor, carpenter and foundation Keuringsbureau Hout (SKH) from Wageningen, further optimised the detailing of mighty oak door frames, glued joints and ageing under the influence of weather, wind and UV.
That the new town hall is not simply a mundane administrative building, but a true house of citizenship, is evident in the façade. It is a technical masterpiece in many respects. 2.264 individual oversized fingerprints of citizens of the city were integrated as a fixed sunshade.
However, fixing the fingerprints was no easy task. In the end, ABT found a solution that was as imaginative as it was simple: An aluminium strip ensures that the grilles are firmly attached and yet can be opened with the window sash.
The city hall complex is one of the most sustainable administrative buildings in the Netherlands (BREEAM Excellent). Recycled zinc was reused to seal the caps. Fossil fuels for heating and cooling are no longer even necessary. Electricity comes from solar panels on the roof, supplemented by green electricity. All sustainability measures are optimally coordinated. This includes heat and cold storage, as well as water conservation through toilets with break switches and taps with volume limiters. In addition, the building has partially greened roofs with insulating sedum and mosses.
Scope of services: Structural engineering, implementation planning
Photos: Neutelings Riedijk Architects
