Municipal Office Winterswijk
MUNICIPAL OFFICE WINTERSWIJK
OIII Architecten
ARCHITECTS
OIII Architecten: Maarten Sanders, Armand Paardekooper Overman, Emile Revier and Hans Witt
PHOTOGRAPHS
Roos Aldershoff and Thea vd Heavel
AREA
YEAR
2008
LOCATION
Winterswijk, The Netherlands
CATEGORY
Office Buildings
Text description provided by architect.
According to OIII Architecten the starting point for this design was scale, creating a harmony not dependent on difference in scale but in how a larger scaled building could connect to the surrounding smaller building through textures and details.
The result of scale limitations for the Municipal Office Winterswijk was an extremely compact and simple building layout containing the office, not making it larger than necessary. It consists of a rectangular volume, dissected by a passage way housing the central entrance.
The exterior surface of the building is covered in a rough textured materials referring to rural architecture, and will be characterised by a subtle detailing in brickwork.
The interior of the passage is open and transparent. The top half of the volume is dissected by a number of slits, allowing room for roof terraces.
The program also asked for several apartments, which are designed as a number of individual volumes on the top level and separated by exterior spaces. The sculpture of the block refers to the small scale of the direct surroundings and gives the building an informal character.
The terraces on the top two levels provide room for the planting of trees and shrubberies, provide some shade and gives the building a friendly character, well suited to its smaller scaled surroundings.
