Article from the latest Valstar Visie. Read the entire Valstar Vision here.
In the spring of 2024 the new House for the City of Helmond delivered and opened. From four different locations, the employees of the municipality of Helmond moved to one central, modern building. The new building is flexible, sustainable, energy neutral and has a strong focus on meeting and collaboration.
We discuss the development of the new town hall with three people involved from Valstar Simonis: Ron Stoffels, senior project manager electrical engineering, Wally van Mierlo, senior project manager mechanical engineering, and Wilfried van Mierlo, senior advisor. For Ron Stoffels this project was extra special: after all, you don't often get the chance to design the city hall in your own hometown from an installation perspective...
Total Engineering
Because the four municipal locations were difficult to make sustainable, the municipality of Helmond decided to build a new building on the site of the old City Office. The design for the House for the City of Helmond was created by a Total Engineering team, consisting of Kraaijvanger Architects, Ryse, DGMR, Aronsohn and Valstar Simonis. Wally van Mierlo says: “This collaboration went so well that the same team is now also working on the design for the House for the City of Amersfoort.”
Circular building
The construction (concrete skeleton) of part of the City Office has been preserved and now forms the front and entrance of the new building. Building materials from the old building have been harvested and reused. For example, re-baked bricks can now be seen in the floor of the atrium. “Reuse in the field of installation technology is still limited,” says Ron Stoffels, “but here we have reused cable ducts and patch cabinets, among other things.”
Compact and light
By using the construction of the old City Office, the available height between the floors was limited. Nevertheless, the installations were successfully incorporated. Wilfried explains: “By using the atrium as one large return channel for the air to be extracted, we were able to save considerably on space and material use. Another example of smart use of space and material is the choice for the 'WIFI-unless principle': the amount of data cabling has been minimized.” The three men from Valstar Simonis have noted that the smart lighting design, the glass roof of the atrium and the use of a lot of wood provide a calm appearance. Users of the building have been very positive so far: the light and open character invites people to meet.
Project approach
Of course, sometimes a project goes differently than planned and the budget was sometimes a limiting factor. This challenge was recognized from the start. Also, the new way of working for the municipality sometimes provided other insights during the project and thus changes in the design. But the good cooperation ultimately led to a beautiful House for the City of Helmond.
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David Hess of Kraaijvanger Architects: “Building is ready for the future”
Architect and partner at Kraaijvanger David Hess is very satisfied with working in this team. Hess: “The success of a project depends mainly on the expertise of the different parties, the mandate that they have and the mutual trust.”
David explains that drawing up a Programme of Requirements was part of the request and was completed in parallel with the design. This integrated approach ensures that theory and practice are better aligned, which leads to a clearer design and a better end result. He says: “The building has become much more public than initially thought. For example, the entire staircase landscape is accessible to the public. In addition, careful consideration was given to the integration of the building into the environment. The new building is located on the route from the station to the city. That is why we opted for four entrances in the design. Two of these are currently in use, but more entrances can be opened in the future.”
Detachability
During the demolition of the old building, a lot of thought was given to reuse. A circular demolition specification was drawn up and materials such as concrete and plasterboard were reused in the new building. Other materials were sold or returned to the cycle. In the new building, detachability is of great importance: materials must be easy to remove and reuse. A materials passport was drawn up for the new building.
Flexibility
The facade of the building has a woven pattern: a nod to Helmond as a textile city. The building consists of two shell parts that face each other, with one of these shells being the old construction of the City Office. The characteristic elements, such as the staircase landscape and the council chamber, are located between these shells. The open balustrade promotes encounters between people. “Also important: the design offers the flexibility to easily give the building a different function in the future,” according to the architect.
David is proud of the end result. “The innovative and flexible design, together with the circular approach, has created a building that is ready for the future.”
Read the whole Valstar Vision here.
More information and photos about the House for the City of Helmond.
