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International Criminal Court, Holland Building, Architect, Dutch Project, Picture, Design, Image
International Criminal Court Holland : Information
ICC Building in The Hague, The Netherlands, Europe : Architecture Contest
International Criminal Court - ICC, The Hague, Holland
schmidt hammer lassen architects
8 Mar 2010
schmidt hammer lassen architects wins the
competition for the International Criminal Court in The Hague
After years of accommodation in temporary premises, the International
Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has revealed its design for new
permanent headquarters by schmidt hammer lassen architects (SHL).
The Danish office was selected in a prestigious architectural design
competition with a twenty strong international shortlist including
David Chipperfield, Mecanoo Architecten, OMA/Search, Ingenhoven, Wiel
Arets, and Kengo Kuma & Associates.
"To the victims, to their families and to the world, the ICC
building must communicate respect, trust and hope. This building cannot
be anonymous; it must have the courage to express the values and the
credibility of the ICC," said Bjarne Hammer, Co-Founding Partner
and Creative Director of schmidt hammer lassen architects. He continued:
"The building is designed as an abstract and informal sculpture
in the landscape. This way, it becomes a backdrop for the ICC to communicate
trust, hope, and most importantly, faith in justice and fairness."
Located close to the North Sea, the new Court is placed between nature
and city, set in the rolling dune landscape at the edge of The Hague.
The main concept is the sculptural arrangement of buildings in the
landscape and the design of a landmark that conveys the eminence and
authority of the ICC while at the same time relating to a human scale.
schmidt hammer lassen´s winning design complies with a complex
brief and captures the spirit of the ICC. The overall building form
can be seen as an undulating composition of volumes on the horizon,
reminiscent of the dune landscape. "It was evident that connecting
the dune landscape with the edge of the city had a striking potential.
By designing a compact building with a small footprint, we propose
to return the landscape to the city," said Bjarne Hammer.
According to the Architectural Jury, the design provides the ICC with
a sculptural composition of square towers. The Jury quoted this approach
as "a very impressive and interesting architectural gesture and
a great contribution to the city with an attractive integration into
the landscape. This applies also for the idea of 'moving down' to
the Court through the spacious staircase. The big and sharp incision
in the landscape and the lower ground floor are very interesting elements.
The inner atmosphere is confirmed as user-friendly, especially the
spacious ground floor with beautiful daylight from above. This ground
floor can be seen as an inner private park area which facilitates
the interaction between all the ICC employees in a very pleasant and
positive way."
By making a sharp incision into the ground the building complex forms
a contrast to the surrounding dune landscape. The architectural idea
is to continue the gardens in the ground floor (parterre) level of
the building as a cladding of the Court Tower.
"Gardens have always existed as part of all cultures and all
religions. With flowers and plants from each of the 110 ICC member
countries, the parterre gardens rise up as a green landmark and a
symbol of unity, regardless of nationality and culture," explained
Bjarne Hammer.
Environmental sustainability is a key criterion in terms of the building's
footprint and the selection of building materials. The facades of
the office buildings are clad in a composite material selected for
its suitability to the windy and salty local climate, ease of maintenance
and security performance. The material is normally used in the bodywork
of professional race cars and in the cladding of windmills due to
its durability. The design has at this stage been assessed as BREEAM
Excellent.

International Criminal Court - Building Information
Client: The International Criminal Court (ICC)
Area: 46,000 m2, up to 1,200 work places
Construction sum: €190 million ex. VAT
Competition: 2008-2010, restricted international competition with
a total of 171 applications
Engineer: Royal Haskoning Nederland B.V.and Esbensen - Consulting
Engineers AS
Interior design and art: Bosch & Fjord in collaboration with schmidt
hammer lassen architects.
Previously:
The ICC is a tall, luminescent, sculptural composition of various-sized
square towers, which are united at the bottom by a rectangular base
sharply incised in the dunes.
The base - four and half metres high - is hovering above ground and
the incision in the ground is wider and larger than the base itself.
Six of the seven towers are draped in a light transparent pattern
of rhombuses and so is the base they rest on. The rhombuses make up
the slightly irregular glass panes through which there is a view of
the surrounding trees and dunes. In the seventh and tallest tower,
the ICC Courthouse resides.The façade of the courthouse is
a relief of square timber panels. The warm wood colour of the courthouse
sets it apart from the rest of the buildings. The entrances are situated
at each end of the complex 8 metres below the base. Here, you enter
a public garden of trees and plants from all over the world grown
in rhombus shaped mosaics of flowerbeds interspersed with reflecting
pools. Blocks frame the public area containing meeting rooms, hot
desks for the press, auditoriums, library and archives, staff restaurants.
Interspersed between the pools and vegetation are restaurant pavilions
for visitors.
The seven towers are set in a staggered row on their rectangular base.
The buildings vary in height between four and seven storeys with the
37-metre courthouse towering in the middle. The six office towers
mainly consist of office space and meeting and conference rooms. They
rest on the stair cores and columns of various dimensions in the public
garden.
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ICC Building images / information from schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
Dutch
Buildings
Dutch Architecture - Selection
Theatre Agora, Lelystad, Flevoland
UNStudio

Theater Lelystad, 2005 : image © Christian Richters
Theatre Agora
Almere Entertainment Centre
Alsop & Störmer

photo © Adrian Welch
Almere Entertainment Centre
"WoZoCo" Housing for Elderly
MVRDV

photo © adrian welch
WoZoCo Amsterdam
Buildings by this architect
City of Westminster College
Aberdeen University
Library
Sort Diamant
Halmstad Library
Performers House

World Architecture : e-architect
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International Criminal Court Building The Hague
: page - adrian welch / isabelle lomholt |
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