Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - FacadeHerstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Image 3 of 51Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Glass, FacadeHerstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - FacadeHerstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - More Images+ 46

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Listen, Understand, Create, Innovate, Surprise.

This approach develops through a generous act, mixing modernity and organic. It is about creating a new way of discovering, moving, getting your bearings, and working.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade
© Christophe Vootz

Creating sensuality.

Adopting this approach we have developed this project for the building of the Herstal City Hall. Our objective: to create it in a surprising and innovative way.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade
© Christophe Vootz

The setting up of the building is divided into 2 parts. This allows creating a largely open pedestrian area which lets us discover an inside made of patches of vegetation conceived as a public garden.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Glass, Facade
© Christophe Vootz

The choice of tree species and other vegetables has been made according to their flowering, persistence, pigmentation and their smell in order to get a continuously changing nature from March to December.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade, Glass
© Christophe Vootz

The impact of car traffic is played down as cars drive on grass seeded flagstones as well as on outside parking places. 

Ground Floor Plan

Located on a sloping parcel of land with a difference in height of several meters the building commits itself to an ambitious juxtaposition – the base, the transparent layers and the wrapping.

 A techno-sensual wrapping floating on an immaterial basis

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade
© Christophe Vootz

A shaped landscape-pedestal

The pedestal is the base of the parcel of land – a generous surface as a welcome centre. 

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Image 33 of 51
© Christophe Vootz

The base is the foundation of the project: it adopts the parcel of land and all its differences in levels and is conceived as a green trail.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Windows, Facade
© Christophe Vootz

This difference in height makes it possible for underground floors (car park, printing shop) to benefit from ventilation and natural light.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Beam, Steel
© Christophe Vootz

The base is also the most transparent place, open towards the outside and full of light. This base plays the role of a public space which guarantees the continuity between the inside and the outside. It is a place of exchange, of information, of learning, of communication, a place of life.

So all the reception facilities and all the services are accessible to the public on a daily basis.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Stairs, Beam, Handrail
© Christophe Vootz

The floors are made in a similar way. The transparency enables to diffuse natural light and to extend the notion of space by playing down the limits.

These places are also open to the outside: covered terraces, central walkways, greens spaces…

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Image 12 of 51
© Christophe Vootz

In order to generate different volumetries according to the needs, heights and levels are variable and spaces are interrelated by a footbridge. This makes the different places accessible to all. 

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Image 8 of 51
© Christophe Vootz

From this place a viewpoint through window glasses allows understanding the functioning of the building and offers a clear lecture by putting visually and quickly the different services through to each other.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade
© Christophe Vootz

Product Description.

1. Forbo flooring with the colored floor give the identity of the internal building, with a code for circulation RED, working space GREEN, common space GREY, Technical Space BLUE.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Stairs
© Christophe Vootz

2. D-Dalle is really the identity of the structure of the building, with this powerful visible wood structure, and the flexibility, acoustic solution.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Image 25 of 51
© Christophe Vootz

3. Plant Design, with the green façade, studied specifically for the project, and with the structured facade, give also all visual external identity of the building, with also a maximum of senses developed, Sight, Smell and Hearing.

Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte - Facade, Glass
© Christophe Vootz

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Project location

Address:Herstal, Belgium

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Herstal City Hall / Frederic Haesevoets Architecte" 30 Jan 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/803249/herstal-city-hall-frederic-haesevoets-architecte> ISSN 0719-8884

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