City hall in Høje-Taastrup by PLH Arkitekter
In Høje-Taastrup you find one of Denmark’s most innovative and unique city halls. The “Citizens’ House” is ambitious and forward-looking in its design – featuring a great work environment, sustainable solutions and visions of strengthening the local communities. Nine floors. Eye-catching, transparent facade with playful angles.
Large, inviting rooftop terrace, which can be opened to the public. Høje-Taastrup’s new city hall stands out as a significant architectural landmark that invites citizens inside. The building, designed by PLH Arkitekter in collaboration with ALL and COWI, was born out of a vision of developing modern, flexible work environments for employees, while at the same time giving back to the city and its citizens.
The city’s new landmark
Even at a casual glance, Høje-Taastrup’s new city hall is a remarkable sight. With its location in the new city park, which creates a green axis between the City2 shopping center and the new urban development area Høje-Taastrup C, this 43-meter-high building is a significant, visually connecting link between the new and the old.
A terrace, sun deck and cozy seating areas surround the building. Three large stairs, paths, and plantings close to the city hall help create a natural cohesion with the city park and nearby area. The unique facade is characterized by a mix of champagne-colored elements and large glass panels, which are angled slightly in relation to each other, creating a dynamic and welcoming expression.
Citizens and great working environment at the center
Throughout the design phase, the aim has been to create a house that is both a modern workplace for employees and a natural, inviting gathering point for citizens. Entering the large, 37-meter-high atrium, you step into Høje-Taastrup’s new city square with green plants and small, cozy corners.
Here, you find citizen-oriented functions such as reception, job center, citizen service and the council chamber, which has direct access to the city park. Thus, the outdoor areas can be included in events such as weddings held in the chamber. From the staircase, you reach the first floor of the city hall, where you will find the multi-meeting hall, which can be used for meetings and public events.
From the first floor, there is also access to small terraces offering great views of the park. The next floors contain work areas organized around the open atrium with a clear view of the different floors to support coherence and knowledge sharing. On each floor, workstations are placed by the large window sections providing plenty of daylight. State-of-the-art solutions have been integrated to ensure optimal indoor climate with good air quality and acoustics.
To future-proof the office areas, the design is flexible, so it can be easily adapted and reconfigured for new needs and work methods.
At the top of the building, there is a large rooftop terrace that can be used for events and opened to the public. The terrace is designed as an architectural landscape divided into several different levels with green vegetation, cozy corners and seating areas.
Focus on sustainable solutions
Høje-Taastrup’s new city hall has been pre-qualified to receive the DGNB Gold sustainability certification from the Council for Sustainable Building and is expected to receive the final certification when data on the building’s use is available.
The certification is awarded because the design and construction have placed particular emphasis on solutions that contribute to making the project more sustainable in terms of climate, environment and social concerns. The greenery around the city hall helps increase biodiversity in the area.
At the same time, CO2 emissions from the construction have been reduced, as the city hall’s foundation consists of recycled concrete from apartment buildings in the municipality that have been demolished. The building’s design also includes measures that reduce energy consumption and improve indoor climate.
Among other things, there is intelligent control of heating and lighting, allowing energy consumption to match activities and needs, and in the open atrium, roof windows can be opened to make use of thermal updraft to draw heat out and cool the building without using energy. Source by PLH Arkitekter.
Location: Høje-Taastrup, Denmark
Architect: PLH Arkitekter
Team: COWI and ALL
Sustainability: DGNB Gol
Client: Høje-Taastrup Municipality
Size: 8,700 m2
Year: 2023
Photographs: Thorbjorn Hansen, Courtesy of PLH Arkitekter
