Following the construction of the first phase in 2015, the Mecanoo-designed Delft City Hall and Train Station is now fully completed, the Dutch firm recently announced. The 28,320 m2 project sits on top of a train tunnel, which replaced an old concrete viaduct that divided the city since 1965. Now, the project connects Delft's historic city center to the east of the tunnel with the residential neighborhoods to the west.
The project's design celebrates the past and present of Delft, Mecanoo describes. As travelers ride the escalators, they can look up to see a gigantic 1877 map of Delft on the ceiling, which Mecanoo designed with Geerdes Ontwerpen. Outside, travelers can see the city and the old station. Walls and columns in the interior are decorated with a contemporary reinterpretation of Delft Blue tiles. The train station also directly connects to the city hall.
“Panels of fused glass with lens-like spheres reference a vernacular window design that can be seen throughout the historic city,” Mecanoo says. “The combination and rhythm of open panels of high-performance glass and closed fused glass panels enable a high degree of energy efficiency. [...] Incisions in the glass volume of the city hall building form a pattern of alleyways and courtyards.”
Windows can be manually opened by users for natural ventilation, and solar panels installed on the roof provide 20 percent of the building's energy.
Check out a video of the project below.
2 Comments
The images look nice.
How about an architectural drawing or two? A site plan would be great, since someone claims that the project reconnects two parts of the city.
couldn't find a site plan, but on mecanoo's website, they have these floor plans and a section of the building.
ground floor
first floor
second floor
third floor
section
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