town hall west betuwe

new wooden structures 

The existing city hall was a cluster of building sections from 1984, 1996 and 2010, situated around a patio. It was a dark, rather labyrinthine building whose acoustics left much to be desired, surrounded by a stone-paved outdoor space. cepezed preserved the existing complex and added two striking, wooden constructions. The floor plan was arranged more logically, with separate zones for civil servants, the public, and the city council and political groups. The new building segment with the public entrance looks like a pavilion because of the prominent horizontal line of the canopy and its glass facade sections. It is carefully fitted in between the pond and monumental trees. The prefabricated roof elements have an acoustic function and the installations and lighting have been incorporated into them.

legible transformation 

By demolishing a building section and organizing the building differently, the routing improves and the surrounding garden gains more body. The choice of wood makes the two new additions 'legible', as does the choice not to connect them directly to the old building: skylights have been created between the wooden building parts and the existing building. Before demolition, reusable elements were mapped. New additions are reserved in tone so that the existing building is not snowed under and the eye is drawn outside. There are reused PV panels on the roofs, supplemented by 260 new panels. The two new building sections are prefabricated kit of parts structures, which can be disassembled and reused.

multifunctional council chamber 

The wooden pavilion facing the garden houses the public reception desk, consultation rooms, waiting room and council chamber in addition to the entrance. A prominent, wide canopy provides unity, offers protection from the sun and softens the transition between inside and outside. The council chamber offers a view of the greenery and effectively functions as the "living room" of the new municipality: in addition to council sessions, it can host meetings, events, concerts, lectures and weddings. The other new building section is placed on the former patio and serves as a central meeting space with workstations, coffee bar and kitchen.

multipurpose wooden elements 

The new, wooden furniture that cepezedinterieur designed especially for the West Betuwe town hall is, where possible, tailored to multiple functions. For instance, the wall elements in the council chamber are simultaneously a bench for the public, a cabinet and a screen. In addition, they limit views from outside. In parallel to these elements, cepezedinterieur designed loose furniture for the council chamber. The tables are switchable so that they can be placed in a circle, but also in a large plane or smaller groups.

identity 

In designing the interior, a way was sought to express the identity of the new municipality. The three colors from the municipal logo - red, blue and green - were used as accent colors. The building sections for civil affairs, civil servants and city council were each given a recognizable, individual color. Typical, historical and landscape aspects are reflected in the interior. For example, the river Linge was blasted into the tiled floor - in the building, the course of the river connects the new council chamber with the former patio. The existing furniture of the merged municipalities was also inventoried, yielding a usable collection of fine chairs and a few gems. Some of the chairs were reupholstered.

green inside and out 

The garden surrounding the building was redesigned, with increasing biodiversity as a key consideration. New facade sections are made of glass and offer a good view of the grasses and plants. Where paving was necessary, semi-paving was chosen wherever possible. The planting inside is clustered, in a plant wall or in large containers - in the cafeteria, the containers are placed semi-sunken. The sculptures already in the garden have been reinstalled and supplemented with a selection of sculptures from the art collection of the Municipality of West Betuwe.