Delft City Hall and Train Station Building, Dutch Architecture Photos, Civic Design

Delft City Hall and Train Station

New Architecture in The Netherlands design by Mecanoo, Holland

21 Sep 2018

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building News

Architects: Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building Design, Netherlands

Arriving in Delft is an unforgettable experience. From the outset, Mecanoo’s idea was to design a station that makes it clear to visitors that they have arrived in Delft.

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building

The station, in combination with the new city hall, sits atop a new train tunnel built in place of the old concrete viaduct that divided the city in two since 1965. Coming up the escalators, the impressive ceiling with the historic map of Delft unfolds. When you look outside, you see the city and the old station as a contemporary version of Johannes Vermeer’s painting ‘View of Delft’.

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building

Interweaving past and future

The city of Delft reflects its past: the multitude of historic buildings and canals; the ‘Prinsenstad’ city, closely connected to the Dutch Royal Family; and, of course, the world famous Delftware ceramic factories. On the other hand, the Delft University of Technology is at the forefront of technical innovation. The character of Delft, epitomised in this combination of past and future, was the starting point for the design.

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building

Delft Blue

A vaulted ceiling features an enormous historic 1877 map of Delft and its surroundings, connecting the station with the city hall. Within the station hall, walls and columns are adorned with a contemporary re-interpretation of Delft Blue tiles. You can walk directly from the station into the city hall. The glass skin of the building is designed to reflect the Dutch skies.

Delft City Hall and Train Station Building

The panels of fused glass with lens-like spheres reference a vernacular window design that can be seen throughout the historic city. The combination and rhythm of open panels of high performance glass and closed fused glass panels enable a high degree of energy efficiency.

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Contextually compact

Throughout the design process the building volume has been shaved and reformed to create a compact, highly efficient building form. The lowered roof lines at the corners provide a gradual transition towards the existing small-scale development of the Delft city centre and the adjacent Wester Quarter.

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

The building connects the historic inner city on the east side of the railway tunnel with the residential neighbourhoods located to the west, realigning the centre of Delft. Incisions in the glass volume of the city hall building form a pattern of alleyways and courtyards, which are themselves inspired by the intricate structure of Delft.

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Sustainable

The facade responds to the different sun orientations, which determined the amount of glass incorporated, thus mitigating daylight needs while reducing heat gain in the summer months. The glass has a high light absorption factor but low solar absorption, and all windows can be opened manually for user comfort and natural ventilation.

Solar panels on the roof provide 20% of the energy for the building mechanics and presence aware lighting. The GreenCalc+ score is rated at 270.

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Delft City Hall & Train Station – Building Information

Programme:
City hall (19,430 m2) around internal patios, a bicycle shed, an archive, a loading and unloading area and a public lobby of 2,230m²; the public lobby is visually and physically linked to the station hall of 2,450m² with retail facilities and food and beverage of 850m2;total 28,320m²

Design 2006-2010
Realisation 2012-2017 (station hall and first phase of the city hall were completed in 2015)

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

Client: Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Spoorzone Delft BV, Delft, the Netherlands
Structural Engineer: ABT bv, Delft, the Netherlands
Mechanical Engineer: Deerns Raadgevende Ingenieurs B.V., Rijswijk, the Netherlands

Building Cost Consultant: Basalt bouwadvies bv, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
Building Physics and Fire Safety Consultant: LBPSight, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
Consultant Graphics Ceiling: Geerdes Ontwerpen, Huizen, the Netherlands

Delft City Hall and Train Station building by Mecanoo architecten

The underground station platforms are designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects.

Images by Mecanoo architecten

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Delft City Hall and Train Station – previous post

Location: Delft, Netherlands, western Europe

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Comments / photos for this Delft office building & train station page welcome

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