court of justice hasselt by j. mayer h. architects, a2o-architecten + lens ass

j. mayer h. architects open courthouse hasselt in belgium
photo by philippe van gelooven

on september 13th, the ‘court of justice’ in hasselt belgium opens. designed by j. mayer h. architects, a2o-architecten and lens°ass architects, the building’s exterior skin was already in place in 2011, with the interior of the building having just been completed this past spring. sited on the city’s former railway station, ‘court of justice’ hasselt is one of two towers located within a larger master plan by west 8 which sees the greater area restructured with a park, public buildings, offices and hotels, along with residential blocks.

combining the court of justice with a university library and auditoriums for the faculty of law, the space is divided into three separate programs: courtrooms, the library for students and an office tower with a 64-meter-high panorama restaurant on top, offering a panoramic view of the city of hasselt and its surroundings; with the transparent building directly accessible to the public. the high-rise references the image of the ‘tree’ on its edifice, particularly that of the hazelnut variety found in the city’s coat of arms, while a steel framework recalls the  once industrial- and art nouveau-influenced area.

see designboom’s coverage of the ‘court of justice’ when it was nearing completion here.

communal areas
photo by bieke claessens

large windows illuminate the interior during daylight hours
photo by philippe van gelooven

one of the auditoriums
image © reynders

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project info:

j. mayer h. project team: juergen mayer h., georg schmidthals, marcus blum, guvenc ozel, jan-christoph stockebrand; a2o-architecten, hasselt;
luc vanmuysen, jo berben, tim vekemans, mannfred benditz; lensºass architecten, hasselt; bart lens, massimo pignanelli, philippe dirix, jan achten
international competition:  2005 1st prize
project: 2005-2010
completion: february 2011
client: stationsomgeving nv hasselt

phase 1: redevelopment of the train station area in hasselt based on the west8 master plan, including two iconic buildings and low rise blocks for hotels, offices and housing.
phase 2: court of justice, hasselt

location: monseigneur broekxplein, 3500 hasselt
function: courthouse including offices
site area: 3640 qm
building area: 3200 qm
total floor area: 21600 qm
stories: 13
structure: concrete and steel
announcement date: february 2007