The Hague Municipal Offices, known around the world as home of the ICC, has a new Municipal Office designed by Rudy Uytenhaak. With its own clearly defined identity, the Offices are situated within the masterplan of the city which is conceived as a ‘park city’ of autonomous buildings rather than gridded blocks. There is commonality though, achieved by colouration and situation, subtly reinterpreting the city’s optimistic, modernist heritage.
Courtesy of Rudy Uytenhaak
The building is constructed primarily with load-bearing, structural walls, enabling the interior offices to be open-plan and readily altered to fit function. It also enables exceptional transparency between workers and departments. Climate control features are incorporated into the building’s floors, negating the need for drop ceilings and completing the openness of the building’s scheme.Below the office floors, there is a wedding hall, meeting centre, and staff restaurant; above them, the municipal health services. In a subtle statement about government’s role in providing for its populous, the upper nine floors of the building feature residential homes.
Courtesy of Rudy Uytenhaak
All the interior is opened up to itself and the outside in a physical embodiment of government openness. This is achieved both conventionally- through inset fenestration along the primary walls, as well as in a more brute force, yet graceful, fashion- in the lobbing off of the building’s corners.The corners are removed and replaced with views for the occupants out over the city, as well as glances inwards for the city’s population.
Project info:
Architects: Rudy Uytenhaak
Country: Netherlands, The Hague
Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of Rudy Uytenhaak
Area: 32600 m²
Matt Davis is a Virginia Tech graduate and one of the founding editors behind Arch2O. Launching the platform in mid‑2012 alongside fellow Hokies, he helped shape its identity as an international hub for design innovation and critical dialogue . With a foundation in architectural education and a passion for uncovering unconventional design approaches, Matt has contributed significantly—both editorially and strategically—to Arch2O’s growth, ensuring that emerging architects, academics, and creatives have a space to question, explore, and elevate the built environment.