Located close to the North Sea, the new Court is placed between nature and city, set in the rolling dune landscape at the edge of The Hague. The main concept is the sculptural arrangement of buildings in the landscape and the design of a landmark that conveys the eminence and authority of the ICC while at the same time relating to a human scale. schmidt hammer lassen´s winning design complies with a complex brief and captures the spirit of the ICC. The overall building form can be seen as an undulating composition of volumes on the horizon, reminiscent of the dune landscape. “It was evident that connecting the dune landscape with the edge of the city had a striking potential. By designing a compact building with a small footprint, we propose to return the landscape to the city,” said Bjarne Hammer.
According to the Architectural Jury, the design provides the ICC with a sculptural composition of square towers. The Jury quoted this approach as “a very impressive and interesting architectural gesture and a great contribution to the city with an attractive integration into the landscape. This applies also for the idea of ‘moving down’ to the Court through the spacious staircase. The big and sharp incision in the landscape and the lower ground floor are very interesting elements. The inner atmosphere is confirmed as user-friendly, especially the spacious ground floor with beautiful daylight from above. This ground floor can be seen as an inner private park area which facilitates the interaction between all the ICC employees in a very pleasant and positive way.”
By making a sharp incision into the ground the building complex forms a contrast to the surrounding dune landscape. The architectural idea is to continue the gardens in the ground floor (parterre) level of the building as a cladding of the Court Tower.
“Gardens have always existed as part of all cultures and all religions. With flowers and plants from each of the 110 ICC member countries, the parterre gardens rise up as a green landmark and a symbol of unity, regardless of nationality and culture,” explained Bjarne Hammer.
Environmental sustainability is a key criterion in terms of the building’s footprint and the selection of building materials. The facades of the office buildings are clad in a composite material selected for its suitability to the windy and salty local climate, ease of maintenance and security performance. The material is normally used in the bodywork of professional race cars and in the cladding of windmills due to its durability. The design has at this stage been assessed as BREEAM Excellent.
Area: 46,000 m2, up to 1,200 work places
Construction sum: €190 million ex. VAT
Competition: 2008-2010, restricted international competition with a total of 171 applications
Engineer: Royal Haskoning Nederland B.V.and Esbensen – Consulting Engineers AS
Interior design and art: Bosch & Fjord in collaboration with schmidt hammer lassen architects.
Previously:
The ICC is a tall, luminescent, sculptural composition of various-sized square towers, which are united at the bottom by a rectangular base sharply incised in the dunes.
The base – four and half metres high – is hovering above ground and the incision in the ground is wider and larger than the base itself. Six of the seven towers are draped in a light transparent pattern of rhombuses and so is the base they rest on. The rhombuses make up the slightly irregular glass panes through which there is a view of the surrounding trees and dunes. In the seventh and tallest tower, the ICC Courthouse resides.The façade of the courthouse is a relief of square timber panels. The warm wood colour of the courthouse sets it apart from the rest of the buildings. The entrances are situated at each end of the complex 8 metres below the base. Here, you enter a public garden of trees and plants from all over the world grown in rhombus shaped mosaics of flowerbeds interspersed with reflecting pools. Blocks frame the public area containing meeting rooms, hot desks for the press, auditoriums, library and archives, staff restaurants. Interspersed between the pools and vegetation are restaurant pavilions for visitors.
The seven towers are set in a staggered row on their rectangular base. The buildings vary in height between four and seven storeys with the 37-metre courthouse towering in the middle. The six office towers mainly consist of office space and meeting and conference rooms. They rest on the stair cores and columns of various dimensions in the public garden.
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