The new site for Den Helder Town Hall is located in the Napoleonic dockyard across from our housing projects along Molenplein. Working with our colleagues at Geurst & Shultze and historic buildings experts, Molenaar & Co, we have proposed the conversion of two of the dockyard buildings to create a new Administrative Centre and Town Hall for Den Helder. In our team proposals the representative functions are to be housed in an historic building, called 66, and we place the ‘back office’ in a well loved industrial building, number 72.
With a small amount of careful interventions to the facades and interior structure we have made building 72 into a future-proof, pleasure giving, working space with generous daylight, warmth and nautical character. The interior structure is a significant part of the fabric of the dockyard, and our approach is to make a minimum of alterations. An atrium is formed by removing just the floor slabs and leaving the beams and columns in place, and making small alterations to allow for a new stair.
A new entrance takes you past the security barriers and lifts toward the atrium, which is generously planted in the ground floor as a place for informal working and meeting, and on the beams on the floor above to make a green, living heart to the building.
Our scheme provides a warm and friendly working environment with a green heart, wide views of the dockyard and water and to colleagues across the atrium and to floors below and above, that is accessible to people of all abilities and furnished with equipment can be adjusted to suit everyones needs
