j. mayer h. architects: court of justice nearing completion

‘court of justice’ by j. mayer h. architects, hasselt, belgiumall images © filip dujardin

designed by j. mayer h. architects, a2o-architecten and lensºass architecten, the ‘court of justice’ located in hasselt, belgium, is nearing completion. based on a master plan by west 8, the former railway station is being restructured with a park, public buildings, offices, hotels and residential areas. the new high-rise edifice stands an urban symbol in the district. the concept is composed of three references with interconnected volumes. the first are the old industrial steel structures that once occupied the site. the organic belgian art nouveau forms that makes up the cultural heritage of the city, and the hazelnut trees which are displayed on the town’s coat of arms that alludes to the tradition in the middle ages of the law being held under these canopies.

new structure situated in an old railway stationimage © filip dujardin

the courthouse is an open, transparent building with direct public access. it is divided into three separate units: courtrooms,a university library and office tower with a 64-meter high panorama restaurant. located around the main rail station, the planning and logistics of the structure has created a zone with multiple security barriers, resulting in a building massing centered around safety and protection.

(left) organic form of the building(right) facade references the hazelnut trees of belgium’s historyimage © filip dujardin

(left) detail of facade(right) steel structure frameimage © filip dujardin

image © filip dujardin

project info:

architect: j. mayer h. architectsphotography: filip dujardinproject timescale: 2005-13projected completion: spring 2013 location: monseigneur broekxplein, 3500 hasselt, belgiumfunction: courthouse including offices site area: 3640 qmbuilding area: 3200 qm total floor area: 21600 qm stories: 13