Inside, the atrium acts as a green lung in the building through planting that ‘climbs’ up the stairs, contributing to the health and experience of staff and visitors. The slatted ceiling from the former town hall has been reused after the slats were carefully cleaned and shortened by a sheltered workshop and stored until needed on a circular industrial estate working on the re-up-cycling of regional waste flows.
The building’s old furniture will be re-upholstered and reused in the new town hall. Panelling and bespoke furniture will be made from locally harvested beech and ash wood from the Middachten estate, and WoOL Amsterdam will create an acoustic tapestry of renewable wool from Veluwe heathland sheep from the flock on Rheden’s Posbank. This work will be inspired by the moorland landscape and the paintings of Theo Goedvriend, the painter born in 1879 in Hotel De Engel, on the site of the current town hall. More information on the interior design of the new town hall can be found on Zenber architects’ website.
The grounds around the new town hall will be greener and softer than previously, contributing to cooling and the infiltration of rainwater. The planting plan developed by Studio REDD aims to connect to the various landscapes of the Veluwezoom and Ijssel valley – a forest fringe of native trees and shrubs, a sloping landscape with grasses, heather and gorse, and a meadow with the ‘Rheden’ mix of flowers – establishing ecological connections and increasing biodiversity. The bicycle shed will be made of stacked tree trunk disks, acting as a large-scale ‘insect hotel’. Both city hall and bicycle shed will be fitted with green roofs.