Full house for Francine Houben lecture at Heerlen Town Hall
Last Sunday, 27 August, a sold-out lecture by Francine Houben (Mecanoo Architects), followed by a lively debate, took place in front of a ridge-full room at the fully renovated town hall.
Although Heerlen's new municipal offices and renovated town hall have been in use for a while, the two buildings were officially and festively opened last weekend. This was accompanied by ribbons, talks and tours. Sunday afternoon at the town hall, architect Francine Houben talked about her design of the new municipal offices, plus the renovation of the town hall itself. The underlying concept of the design stands for openness, accessibility and welcoming citizens, guests and employees.
Credits: Eefje Pieters
Francine Houben's lecture was about the design process, the new working model and the connection of old and new. For example, by mirroring elements in the town hall by architect Frits Peutz (1896-1974), such as the grand staircase and recurring natural materials.
This was followed by a discussion between Francine Houben, Jo Coenen, Casper Gelderblom and Mark Feron (and the two hundred-headed audience) about tradition, modernity and future orientation. Tours of both the new building and the newly renovated Peutz town hall rounded out the successful afternoon in a beautiful, sun-drenched space.
For those interested, the municipality of Heerlen offers tours of the new municipal offices and the renovated town hall. For more info, visit the municipality's website.