Wool from heathland sheep and Gelderland clay used in Rheden town hall

Construction of the new town hall in Rheden started in March 2023. In the months leading up to this, the old town hall was carefully dismantled allowing 98% of the material to be reused – partly in the new town hall itself, and partly in other buildings in the Netherlands.

The new building has been designed to retain separation of the shell from the interior. A modular grid makes for a very flexible utilisation, in which future changes to floorplans and even function can easily be anticipated. Both the exterior and interior of the building are made of demountable materials as much as possible, so that building components can be reused again in an even more distant future.

Based on the principle that energy and resources are scarce, and that we need to use them carefully, all kinds of circular and bio-based materials are used in the building, preferably of local origin, and with great attention to their level of nature-inclusiveness. For example, the bricks in the façade are made of Gelderland clay, mounted with a dry stacking system so that the masonry façade can be dismantled and reused in the future when demolished. The facade incorporates a specially designed ‘Rheden brick bond’ with insect-friendly bricks, as well as concealed nesting boxes for swallows and bats.

Inside, the atrium acts as a green lung in the building through planting that ‘climbs’ up the stairs, contributing to the health and experience of staff and visitors. The slatted ceiling from the former town hall has been reused after the slats were carefully cleaned and shortened by a sheltered workshop and stored until needed on a circular industrial estate working on the re-up-cycling of regional waste flows.

The building’s old furniture will be re-upholstered and reused in the new town hall. Panelling and bespoke furniture will be made from locally harvested beech and ash wood from the Middachten estate, and WoOL Amsterdam will create an acoustic tapestry of renewable wool from Veluwe heathland sheep from the flock on Rheden’s Posbank. This work will be inspired by the moorland landscape and the paintings of Theo Goedvriend, the painter born in 1879 in Hotel De Engel, on the site of the current town hall.

The grounds around the new town hall will be greener and softer than previously, contributing to cooling and the infiltration of rainwater. The planting plan developed by Studio REDD aims to connect to the various landscapes of the Veluwezoom and Ijssel valley – a forest fringe of native trees and shrubs, a sloping landscape with grasses, heather and gorse, and a meadow with the ‘Rheden’ mix of flowers – establishing ecological connections and increasing biodiversity. The bicycle shed will be made of stacked tree trunk disks, acting as a large-scale ‘insect hotel’. Both city hall and bicycle shed will be fitted with green roofs.

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