In 1970 more than a dozen villages in the Dutch coastal province Zeeland consolidated. The community they formed is called Borsele. Since then the town Heinkenszand has served as the administrative centre for the 25,000 residents. After some thirty years of use, the existing city hall was in urgent need of refurbishment. However, due to the limited budget it was clear that very little change could be made to the building’s awkward geometry. Therefore the adaptation – whether related to the required rooms or energy efficiency – had to be achieved through means of technical and aesthetic renovation of the existing spaces and surfaces.
The desire to signal and encourage more dialogue with the public realm led to the decision to partially open the facades of the entrance hall as well as of the volumes at the ends of the star-shaped building’s three wings, and to incorporate self-supporting, glued glazing in them. These glazed surfaces allow “large-format” glimpses into the building and anchor the latter in its surroundings. The consistent surface treatment of all of the facade’s opaque components has a calming effect on the heterogeneous building massing. The original brick facade received a new outer skin: the building has been equipped with a ventilated cavity facade, including insulation, and covered in mosaic tiles. This new sheathing even continues up beyond the cornice line. In this manner the architects have managed to unite the building’s disparate parts – and the design correspondingly underscores its official character.
To make the building seem more compact, the architects selected green-black enamelled glass tiles – they were produced in China especially for this project. But the dark tone also makes reference to the black barns typical of Zeeland. The slender profiles of the structurally adhered awning windows (format: 1.8 x 1.6 meters), which are flush with the facade, play a role in arriving at a serene, almost “hermetic” building envelope. To this end, nearly all of the technical installations were removed from the facade. The combination of reflective glass and aluminium-coated interior blinds provides ample solar control.
The desire to signal and encourage more dialogue with the public realm led to the decision to partially open the facades of the entrance hall as well as of the volumes at the ends of the star-shaped building’s three wings, and to incorporate self-supporting, glued glazing in them. These glazed surfaces allow “large-format” glimpses into the building and anchor the latter in its surroundings. The consistent surface treatment of all of the facade’s opaque components has a calming effect on the heterogeneous building massing. The original brick facade received a new outer skin: the building has been equipped with a ventilated cavity facade, including insulation, and covered in mosaic tiles. This new sheathing even continues up beyond the cornice line. In this manner the architects have managed to unite the building’s disparate parts – and the design correspondingly underscores its official character.
To make the building seem more compact, the architects selected green-black enamelled glass tiles – they were produced in China especially for this project. But the dark tone also makes reference to the black barns typical of Zeeland. The slender profiles of the structurally adhered awning windows (format: 1.8 x 1.6 meters), which are flush with the facade, play a role in arriving at a serene, almost “hermetic” building envelope. To this end, nearly all of the technical installations were removed from the facade. The combination of reflective glass and aluminium-coated interior blinds provides ample solar control.