Architecture of the skeleton
Converting the Hague’s former police station into a public mixed-use development
M. MEXIS (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
W.L.E.C. Meijers – Mentor (TU Delft - Heritage & Design)
FWA Koopman – Mentor (TU Delft - Heritage & Technology)
H Zijlstra – Mentor (TU Delft - Heritage & Design)
VE Balz – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Spatial Planning and Strategy)
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Abstract
The graduation project proposes the transformation of the police headquarters in the Hague, into a mixed-use development, including an IT university, co-working spaces, apartments, along with a public library and other facilities that encourage the interaction between the building users and locals, forming innovative knowledge clusters across the community. The project aims to explore, both through research and design, the role of structure in the adaptability of former 20th century Dutch police stations. The subject of investigation was decided with the realization that structure constitutes an essential element of an existing building whose potential needs to be thoroughly identified in order to transform it for future uses. The research contributed to the design by pointing out the influence of structure in terms of spatial organization, qualities, and form of existing buildings. As an ultimate aim, the proposal aspires to inform future projects using standardized and factory produced elements about the design possibilities in existing office buildings. Finally, the biggest challenge was to re-introduce a building of such identity, scale and status to its setting, that has been left out of all the activities taking place inside the colossal building complex, ever since it was built.