Fokkema & Partners’ architects completely overhauled the internal spaces of the Town Hall of Almere, in the Netherlands, and to do so chose HI-MACS® natural acrylic stone. “To emphasize the building’s original characteristics, and at the same time create an interior with unique and personal touches” were the architects’ brief in order to refurbish the public services area of the Town Hall.

The Town Hall of Almere was a dark building and, therefore, the concrete structure, building’s height and gold slabs embedded in the columns were not visible from inside before the changes were made. That is the reason why the architects opted for a full remodeling of its spaces, in order to highlight and enhance the main distinctive features.
A new layout for the ground floor means the public services area is accessed straight from the main entrance, creating a more dynamic space along all its length. Public counters, consultation rooms and waiting rooms are located in an open environment with abundant light, where every inch is taken advantage of.

Because the municipality’s funding is public, they needed to ensure that the materials used provided maximum efficiency and durability. In order to comply with the budget and achieve exceptional results for durability, and to also provide a beautiful outcome, the natural acrylic stone HI-MACS® was chosen to implement this project.

Its thermo cured, non-porous and resistant attributes renders it as an ideal material to reform the Town Hall of Almere and provide a pleasant space for its public services.

The building’s original undamaged concrete structure can now be appreciated, combining perfectly with HI-MACS® Arctic White colour. Traditional and contemporary trends merge in this Town Hall of Almere to create new services, thanks to this acrylic stone.

The public services area is located in two differentiated wings: the first one houses the regular municipal services such as passport distribution or the marriage registry. The second sector accommodates the social security services, including some other spaces that require particular privacy areas. This differentiation was planned to create more open spaces, circumventing packed crowds and easing the different procedures carried out there. When accessing the Town Hall, an element of vast proportions used as the reception area stands out due to the light it diffuses to the service areas. This distinctive characteristic is caused by the HI-MACS® Arctic White colour. This is an imposing element that, together with the space, offers feelings of peacefulness combined with solemnity and professionalism. On the other hand, there are touch screens manufactured in HI-MACS® that provide the opportunity to enjoy a self-service reception area. These screens share the same features of the reception area, in the same Arctic White colour, creating visual consistency in the services area.

The properties and features of the natural acrylic stone HI-MACS® combined with the perfect fabrication and expertise from Van der Plas Meubel & Project to fulfill this project´s requirements perfectly. Because of that, the Town Hall is now an enjoyable place both for its employees and its clients. To conclude, the town of Almere has experienced a substantial upgrading of its municipal services.

NAME OF THE PROJECT: Stadhuis Almere

LOCATION: Almere, The Netherlands
ARCHITECTS: Fokkema & Partners Architecten www.fokkema-partners.nl
MANUFACTURERS: Van der Plas Meubel & Project BV, Den Bosch vanderplas.biz
MATERIAL SUPPLIER: Baars & Bloemhoff, The Netherlands
MATERIAL: HI-MACS® Arctic White www.himacs.eu
PHOTOGRAPHS: Horizon Photoworks Rotterdam