Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, SLP

Førde City Hall and Plaza

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

FØRDE CITY HALL AND PLAZA

MestresWågeArquitectes + Nordplan

ARCHITECTS
MestresWåge Arquitectes, Nordplan

PROJECT MANAGER, INSTALLATIONS
Nordplan

LOCATION
Førde, Norway

AREA
9150.0 sqm

CATEGORY
Town & City Hall

PROJECT YEAR
2014

PHOTOGRAPHS
José Hevia

STRUCTURE, FIRE SECURITY
Norconsult

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Åsen & Øvrelid

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

Text description provided by architect.

In 2014 the new city hall of Førde was officially opened. The work has been carried out by the Barcelona based office Mestres Wåge Arquitectes in collaboration with the Førde based firm Nordplan AS.

Together they won the competition organized by the municipality of Førde with the aim to place all public services of the town into one single building.

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia
Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

Førde is a town in Norway with approximately 10000 inhabitants. It is an important regional center for commerce, education and health services. Every summer they host the Førde International folk music Festival.

The Town hall develops new public spaces and fits into the current urban strategy of increased density in the city center. The building opens up towards the river.

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia
Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

An open-air amphitheater has been designed to connect the urban space to the river. The building has a clear character but is adapted to its environment, answers to the needs of the users and is flexible for change of program

The solution as proposed by the architects aims to provide a close relationship between citizens and administration/ government, it applies a high degree of transparency that allows for visual contact between the political and administrative activities and the people, furthermore the building is organized around an open air central patio, it opens towards the river and the existing market place through an outdoor porch.

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia
Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

The town hall houses many different departments and services that are distributed on five levels with different public receptions. The building has a skewed layout that permits the creation of porches and terraces.

An outdoor staircase through the patio leads to the canteen, the assembly hall and the main terraces. The rhythm of openings in the façade and the skewed layout facilitate daylight to all the interior public spaces and offices and provide fantastic views towards the surroundings and the patio.

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia
Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

The decision to create the central patio, the skewed layout, the cuts through the building mass create an interior with a rich variety of spaces. The spaces of public relation and social break-rooms are placed in the wider spaces to favor a dynamic work environment.

The project has been developed entirely with BIM; new tool for virtual building modeling and control of information that allows all disciplines to simultaneously work on the project in all parts of the design process. In this case, the project team was in five different European locations.

Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia
Førde City Hall and Plaza
© José Hevia

The use of this software/ method permits the creation of a virtual model that makes it possible to control the cost, the energetic performance and the general quality of the project.

The experience of the architects in this field has given a smooth response to all requirements in
the process avoiding excessive costs that is quite common in this kind of work in Norway. The project is finished at only 3% over cost estimates, which is normal considering increased prices and inflation.

The office has collaborated with the Førde based architect office Nordplan AS. As a result of this collaboration Mestres Wåge together with Nordplan are working on an extension of the Central hospital in Førde, and have developed various studies on the further development of the city center of Førde that are being used in the formulation of the new urban plan for the town center.


Førde City Hall and Plaza
West elevation
Førde City Hall and Plaza
South elevation


Førde City Hall and Plaza
Floor plan
Førde City Hall and Plaza
Floor plan
Førde City Hall and Plaza
Site plan

Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, SLP
T +34 936 253611
Mestres Wåge Arquitectes, SLP
C/ de Martínez de la Rosa, 49, P BJ PTA 2, Gracia, 08012 Barcelona, Spain
Nordplan, AS
T +47 57 885500
Nordplan, AS
Vågåvegen 35, 2680 Vågå, Norway