The town hall, designed by the Amsterdam bureau Inbo, is located on the border of the old town and later quarters, on the way to the center from the train station. The important administrative and urban planning role of the new building was to be expressed in a "strong" image - so the customer, the municipality, wished, quite in the spirit of medieval and Renaissance Europe, where the height of the tower and the luxury of decoration of the town hall were a matter of special concern for residents and a reflection of their pride in their city.
With its main facade, the building faces the heart of Werth and the ring of streets laid on the site of the canal that previously surrounded the old town: the architects reflected the bend of this route in the rounded outlines of the part of their structure leading there. On this side, the ground floor is glazed and moved away from the red line to create the impression of lightness and openness, which is important for a modern public building. There is a lobby and service counters for the townspeople, and behind the spectacular volume of the second floor is the meeting room of the city council - the architects compare it to a balcony overlooking the historic center.
This second floor is a surface with high window openings separated by narrow Hagemeister clinker profiles: this material is used for almost the entire building, with the exception of the aforementioned glazing and stone plinth. Brick is a traditional building material for the Netherlands, and the surrounding neighborhoods are built up mostly with red-brick buildings. That is why the Weert sorting clinker, developed especially for the town hall, of golden sand color with a unique scale, immediately distinguishes the building from its surroundings, while maintaining their “basic” relationship due to the unity of the material. Dark seams line the facades, emphasizing the rational spirit of the project.
Returning to the rounded facade, reminiscent of the interwar buildings characteristic of Dutch cities in the mainstream of the Amsterdam school, functionalism and art deco, it should be emphasized that it was not easy to implement. The clinker in its inter-window profiles is lined with a half-brick bandage: these profiles have a rectangular cross-section, so great care was required to position them along the circular line of the wall, as the architects of Inbo say.
Side facades with multi-row dressings follow the red line of the street. There, for the feeling of lightness and permeability with the overall massive appearance of the town hall, there are large windows with white bindings.
The project includes several “green” elements, including a geothermal heating system; the use of a durable material such as clinker is also a resource-efficient component of the architects' design.
Architects: Inbo (Amsterdam).
Client: administration of the Werth community.
Completion of construction: 2014.
Clinker: Hagemeister design sorting Weert, WF format (210 x 100 x 52 mm). Clinker façade area: 3,500 m2.
