The Municipality of Amersfoort has selected the Total Engineering Team for the design of the new Amersfoort city hall. This design team, led by Kraaijvanger Architects, consists of Aronsohn, Cauberg Huygen, Lodewijk Baljon, abc nova and Valstar Simonis.
The total design of the House for the City to be built – from interior to exterior, from construction to technical installations – is in the hands of this Total Engineering Team. The new building will be erected on the so-called Trapezium location, an area between the railway, Eemplein and the Nieuwe Poort roundabout. The draft design of the House for the City is expected to be ready at the end of 2021, construction of which is to start in 2023.
Sustainability, healthy and adaptable
In the future, Amersfoort wants to be an energy-neutral and climate-proof city with sufficient housing, where in 2040 about 180.000 inhabitants will feel at home. A House for the City must match this and be suitable for the future. That is why the municipality is developing a new town hall to be built together with the city, which is sustainable, healthy, easily adaptable and budget neutral. An accessible building with an Amersfoort appearance where civil servants work and where all residents (like to) come for municipal services, meetings and collaboration.
Selection procedure
The Total Engineering Team has been selected through a European tender. The municipality wanted to use this procedure to find the best design team for the House for the City. Sixteen renowned parties registered for the tender. Five of them met the requirements the most and made it through the pre-selection. The Total Engineering Team came out on top of this group.
Vision on sustainability
The selection looked at, among other things, the design team's vision on sustainability and urban planning. It also considered how the team involves the users of the building in the design, such as employees, residents and other users of the building. Valstar Simonis and Kraaijvanger Architects have previously worked together successfully on, among other things, the renovation of the Zuid-Holland provincial government building and the new Helmond town hall.
Starting shot and continuation
On Wednesday 12 May, the Municipality of Amersfoort and Kraaijvanger signed the agreement. After this, the architect will start with the sketch design and the program of requirements. The ambition document “A house for the city of Amersfoort”, which contains the ideas and wishes of residents, the city and the municipal council, is the starting point. The first draft design is expected to be shared with the city, city council and municipal employees before the summer. At the end of 2021, the city council will make a decision on the draft design and the schedule of requirements. The final design should be ready in 2022, so that construction can start at the beginning of 2023. If everything goes according to plan, the new town hall on the Trapezium site will be ready for use by the end of 2025.
For more information about the new House for the City of Amersfoort; read the full here press release of the municipality of Amersfoort.
