Richard Rogers Partnership Delivers an Iconic Landmark for Antwerp

New Law Courts will be a catalyst for RRP’s long-term masterplan for the new ‘Zuid’

On 28 March the new law courts for City of Antwerp will be formally opened by King Albert II. This is one of RRP's major public buildings of the early 21st century. Like many projects by the practice, it reflects a vision of the city as a humane and democratic place with a commitment to the regeneration of urban life.

The site for the law courts is at the Bolivarplaats, on the southern edge of Antwerp's central area, where the urban fabric is broken by a massive motorway interchange, cutting off the boulevard that leads into the city. The new building is one of the catalysts for RRP’s long-term masterplan of "the new south" of the city, currently in progress.

RRP is the lead architect of the new building, designed in conjunction with Belgian co-architects VK Studio. It is conceived both as a gateway to the city and as a link across the motorway between the city centre and the Schelde River. It houses eight distinct civil and criminal courts and includes 36 courtrooms plus offices, chambers for judges and lawyers, library and cafeteria, with a great public hall (the space traditionally known as the "Salle des Pas Perdus") linking six radiating wings of accommodation. This space is capped by a striking roof-structure, crystalline in form, linking the paraboloid roofs that cover the courtrooms.

Respect for the environment

When designing the new law courts building, RRP also focused a great deal of attention on the environmental aspects of this project and on the effective use of energy. Natural light is used to optimum effect; low-velocity ventilation is used for the hearing rooms; rainwater is recycled.

The environmental strategy is based on utilising the thermal mass of the pre-cast concrete frame, the reduction of solar gain by high performance glazing and the use of external glazed louvres.

According to Ivan Harbour, “the new Antwerp court house looks grand, yet subtle and offers monumentality on a human scale. The building also makes a clear statement: environmentally friendly, unsophisticated and a high degree of transparency between the public and private spaces. It’s a glass house in which the public is key and where everyone should feel welcome.”

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About Richard Rogers Partnership

Richard Rogers Partnership is an international architectural practice with offices in London, Barcelona, Madrid and Tokyo. Over some three decades, the practice has attracted critical acclaim and dozens of prestigious international awards and honours.

The practice is committed to schemes which create successful public space and enliven inner-city areas. Projects recently completed include the new National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff and Barajas Airport, Madrid . RRP has also designed a 48-storey tower in the City of London which now has planning permission as well as an award-winning primary school near Kyoto and a City Academy in East London. RRP is well known for iconic structures such as Lloyd’s of London and the Millennium Dome.

In the USA, the practice has recently won the international competition to redesign the Javits Conference Center, is masterplanning Manhattan’s redevelopment of the East River Waterfront, as well as designing a major mixed - use scheme for Silvercup Studios adjacent to the Queensboro Bridge and a significant residential development in West Chelsea. In Spain, the practice is also working on a high-rise hotel and conference centre at l’Hospitalet, the redevelopment of a bullring as an entertainment complex in Barcelona, and a winery near Valladolid.

Masterplanning forms about one third of all work: key masterplans include the 120-hectare Greenwich Peninsula, 115 hectares of docklands near Lisbon, two projects in Rome and Mantova and a mixed-use scheme on a 4.6 hectare site in Yoido, Seoul, proposing 40 per cent of external public space.

For further information and for copyright free images, please call:

RRP Press Team

Paul Stelmaszczyk - tel +44 (0) 207 746 0213

email: paul.s@rrp.co.uk

Lucy Dean - tel. +44 (0) 207 746 0204

email: lucy.d@rrp.co.uk

Weber Shandwick, Communications Consultants for RRP

Sven Voet - tel. (+32) (0)2 240 97 72

e-mail: svoet@webershandwick.com

Paul Baeyaert - tel (+32)(0)2 282 16 26

e-mail: pbaeyaert@webershandwick.com