The new civic centre for the City of Utrecht is being designed by Dirk Jan Postel/Kraaijvanger • Urbis together with Christian Müller. Teaming up with Kraaijvanger • Urbis, a firm of some sixty people and expertise accumulated over 75 years, allows Christian Müller to work as project architect on a project that, owing to European tender regulations, is normally not accessible to a small office. +++ The civic centre with a public open hall over several levels will be situated at the prime site of Utrecht Central Station. At this extremely complex location in the heart of the city the new civic centre is not, as one would expect, placed next to the public transport terminal, a building of architect Benthem-Crouwel, but cantilevers above it. This results in an overlap and direct confrontation of publicness of the civic centre and the central station. +++ To master the scale of the 65,000 m2 area gross and the rather compact footprint the mass of the building had to be shaped well thought-out. Several types of buildings will be stacked on top of each other - each part with a different exposure and atmosphere. The result is a sculptural building that hosts a variety of public and semi-public spaces and generates spectacular viewpoints from different levels to its direct surroundings.
Location:
Utrecht
Project:
European tender for a new civic centre
Competition:
2006
Start realization:
2008
Completion:
2011
Client:
NS Poort, Property Development, Utrecht
Program:
65,000 m2, front offices, back offices, restaurants
and sky bar
Architect:
Dirk Jan Postel/Kraaijvanger • Urbis together with Christian Müller
Structure:
Ingenieursbureau Zonneveld BV, Rotterdam
Services:
Halmos BV Adviseurs, Den Haag
Fire Consultancy:
D.G.M.R. consulting engineers, Den Haag