Town hall uses residual heat from dairy factory

The municipality of Berkelland arose on 1 January 2005 out of the municipal redivision of Borculo, Eibergen, Neede and Ruurlo. In those days, municipal services were still scattered over several locations in Borculo and Eibergen. For the sake of efficiency, the new municipality decided to centralise all services and locate them in the existing town hall in Borculo. Fitting all these functions into the 1989 building – a design by Alberts & Van Huut – required renovation and expansion. Key principles for the design were flexibility and adaptability of the new location, integration into the environment and respect for the architecture of the existing building.

CENTRAL HUB CONNECTS OLD WITH NEW

The existing building is an architectural icon and a landmark for Borculo. While preserving its original qualities, it has been carefully renovated and the back of the building has been expanded. The expansion for the administrative and official organisation consists of two separate parts so that it doesn't look larger than the Alberts & Van Huut building. The (flexible) workplaces are located in this new building. A connecting element that serves as canteen and space for large public meetings links the expansion to the original building.

Integration into the landscape

For the expansion, the differences in height of the site were used, so that the three building layers remain lower than the existing Alberts & Van Huut building. In addition, the transparent facade of the basement is set back slightly, which makes it look as if the building is hovering above the ground. The careful use of colour and material aims to integrate the new building into its parklike environment. The application of newly developed facade bricks has the desired result: a dark green brick reminiscent of tree bark with a light sheen connects the two. At the front of the town hall, a new bridge over the river Berkel was built to ensure an easy connection between the building and the town centre of Borculo.

Glass prints offer privacy

To offer privacy to civil servants and administrators at work, the windows have been fitted with glass prints by artist Jasper van der Graaf.

Industrial residual energy provides a pleasant indoor climate

The town hall uses residual energy produced by the nearby dairy factory to heat and cool the building.