amare performance arts center forms arcade passageway between a forest of columns

performance arts center sets up a rhythmic tree-branch facade

Amare center in the Hague hosts performing arts stages, workshops, auditoriums, and more public zones in a new multi-level building by Network Oriented Architecture, NOAHH. Located in the city’s cultural heart, the building accommodates the Amare Foundation, the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), the Residentie Orkest, and the Royal Conservatoire alongside many other functions providing public access to a large part of the area and facilities. Sited on the old Lucent Dance Theater and Dr. Anton Phillips Hall, Amare is optimally integrated into the city’s urban plan standing as the culmination of the Haagse Loper, the pedestrian boulevard that runs from the central station to the Spuiplein. 

The structure shapes a large-scale compact building with a rhythmic facade composed of prefabricated concrete elements. The ‘tree-branch’ frame achieves natural continuity of the urban fabric by opening the free-standing facade to the public ‘like a series of theater curtains’ and forming spacious passageways up to ten meters wide. The lower layers of the building form a fordable and welcoming open arcade shaping a large entrance area with ‘squares and streets’. The walkaway of Amare presents itself in every direction letting the surrounding environment involve in the building and improving the adhesion between the city center and the neighborhoods around.

view from Spuiplein | images by Ossip van Duivenbode unless stated otherwise

interior plan encloses large auditoriums in ring of music studios

The cultural building invites performers, artists, students, and professionals, as well as visitors and residents due to its versatility and ongoing open activities. From large auditoriums to smaller studios the space arranges multiple functions on all levels interconnecting them through a flexible circulation plan and enabling spontaneous interactions. A successive series of meeting areas assembles in various levels and public foyers of the center and link to each other through stairs, escalators, and open spaces.

The ground and first floor are entirely open to the public and visible through large glass openings to the facade of the Turfmarkt. The layout plan of auditoriums alongside and over one another is surrounded by a ring of music studios and classrooms with their structures supporting each other’s foundation. Following a sustainable design method, the construction by architectural firm NOAHH avoided load-bearing walls allowing the floor areas to be redetermined without the need for structural interventions, and, also, fully equipped the roof with solar panels.

the walkaway of Amare lets the surrounding environment, such as Turfmarkt, involve in the building

a variety of materials & textures achieves aesthetic consistency

The Dance Theater’s anthracite-black interior references the old Lucent Dance Hall. The structure puts up movable wall panels that provide excellent variable acoustics for dance performances, speeches, and opera concerts, while the cleverly sorted foundation system eliminates sound transmission. The concrete wall finishes and sliding panels regulate the acoustics and the wooden slats and double-curved balustrades diffuse the sounds. Amare arts center sets up a variety of materials and colors organizing different recognizable characters in each auditorium. The surrounding foyers and halls are defined by the black steel stairs, the gold-colored metal wall cladding, and the white columns. Features of bamboo wood and reflective black glass adorn the interior which is enhanced by the presence of voids and patios between the domains and the floors.

night view of Amare arts center from Spuiplein

the public foyer allows access to visitors

students and professors practice in the music studio | image by Katja Effting

concert hall arranges three levels in curved formations

the conservatorium hall | image by Jan Richard Kikkert

the dance theatre | image by Katja Effting

the dance theatre during a performance | image by Katja Effting

project info:

name: Amare
designer: NOAHH – Network Oriented Architecture

collaboration: JCAU + NL Architects

location: Hague, Netherlands

photography: Jan Richard Kikkert + Ossip van Duivenbode + Katja Effting

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edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom