- Competition: 2018
- Location: Senec
The main idea of the mass concept of the town hall extension was to visually divide the inner yard and to create a semi-private public space for employees, visitors and clients between the existing and the new building. The ground-floor consists of two orthogonal shaped parts. One of those is connected with the eastern wing of the old town hall, and the second one is situated in the central position of the site. These parts are connected with the mass of the first floor, which is perpendicular to the eastern wing and creates a visual barrier between the yard and the southern part of the site with the parking lots. The division of the mass responds also to a division of functions inside the building. The ground-floor is divided by the main pedestrian flows: from the parking place to the main entrance and potential connection with the garden of the adjacent Jewish synagogue. The massive appearance of the building is eliminated by used materials as a transparent glass wall on the ground-floor and the semi-transparent poly-carbonate facade wall on the first floor.
The new building has a main car access from the south where there is parking lot for the employees. The main entrance for clients is through the gate of the old town hall is located at the main square of Senec. The new building fits into the urban structure of the neighborhood with its shape and height.
There is a modern open office space, the so-called “client center” situated in the central part of the ground floor and the entrance hall to the wedding and conference room in the eastern wing. In that part, there are also the offices of the social services department that requires barrier-free access. The major part of the first floor is occupied by the wedding and conference hall, illuminated from top with a glazed roof. The visual contact with the sky creates a unique atmosphere for these special occasions. Additional spaces to the hall and offices of departments related to client centre, weddings and conferences occupy the rest of that floor. The foyer in front of the hall has access to the green roof of the eastern wing.
In our design, we try to accept the request for minimal changes and unlimited operation of the existing town hall. That is why the proposed changes are only demolition and the addition of some not load-bearing walls. The division of the departments respects the required connections and the demand for individual offices.
