Town Hall Hohenems (DE)

The construction of a modern and sustainable town hall at this prominent location in Hohenems – at the northern entrance to the historic town centre – offers the opportunity for a new urban definition. The striking head building forms the “gateway to the town”. The precisely placed five-storey structure, together with the outdoor space facing the old town, the “Villa Rosenthal” to the south and the planned new buildings, creates a coherent ensemble.

Basement
The surrounding arcade interweaves the entrance level with the exterior space.In the south – oriented towards the town hall forecourt – the larger covered area defines the access to the town hall and the public underground car park. The communicative and friendly design of the ground floor conveys the social function to the outside and stands for openness and proximity to the citizens. The open design of the staircase offers visitors a clear orientation and a place to meet.

Offices
Based on a construction grid of 125 cm, the column-free building allows maximum freedom in terms of use and occupancy. A wide variety of spatial situations – from individual offices to open-plan situations – can be easily realised.
With its transparent design, the precisely cut volume creates an open working environment, yet its façade design gives it a physical and powerful appearance.

Construction
Reduced in structure, sustainable in the building material, prudent in the supporting structure – this is how we plan the construction. Except for the base, the building is a pure timber construction with a bracing core. The high degree of prefabrication guarantees a short construction time and thus only minimal disruption to the intensive traffic situation and neighbouring residents.

Sustainability
In the design, we thought holistically about architecture, statics, building physics, building services and lighting and focused on economic, ecological and sustainable planning from the very beginning. The result is an energy-optimised building with a minimal amount of ancillary space, extremely compact cubature, ecological construction and excellent use of daylight.