ZESZYTY N A U K O W E POLITECH NIK I ŚLĄSKIEJ Seria: A RC HITEKTURA z. 43
2004 N r kol. 1653
M aisaa HA M DO U N
W ydział A rchitektury, Politechnika Krakow ska
THE TOWN HALL IN CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
Sum m ary. One o f the m ost im portant public adm inistrative services is the Tow n Hall as the seat o f the local authority in the city or com munity. In contem porary architecture Town Hall has to express the pow er o f this local authority as w ell as its transparency. Evidences o f this are Boston C ity Hall, Tokyo City Hall, Encam p Tow n Hall, N ew M urcia City Hall and London City Hall. The pioneering architects o f these Tow n Halls - and m any others around the world - were fully aware o f the necessity o f m aking these institutions o f m odem dem ocratic society architecturally m anifest, each in his ow n w ay in relation to the environm ent.
RATUSZ WE WSPÓŁCZESNEJ ARCHITEKTURZE
Streszczenie. Jednym z najw ażniejszych budynków usług adm inistracji publicznej je st ratusz, który je st m iejscem lokalnej w ładzy w m ieście lub gminie. W e współczesnej architekturze ratusz musi wyrażać potęgę lokalnych władz. Św iadczą o tym Ratusz w Bostonie, Ratusz w Tokio, Ratusz w Encamp, Ratusz w N ew M urica City i Ratusz w Londynie. Architekci pionierzy tych Ratuszy - i w ielu innych na świecie - byli w pełni świadomi potrzeby w ybudow ania tych instytucji dla now oczesnego dem okratycznego społeczeństwa, co było architektoniczną m anifestacją. K ażdy architekt m iał w łasną koncepcję w stosunku do środowiska.
O ne o f the m ost im portant public adm inistrative services is the Town Hall as the seat o f the local authority in the city or com m unity. This is a fom m w here inhabitants o f the city participate in m anaging the adm inistrative affairs o f their city through their representatives, w ho m eet in the City Council.
In the historical developm ent o f city the Tow n H all building was always recognisable on the city’s horizon. In the M iddle Ages the Town Hall, w here the hall o f the town council, a chapel, a prison and other room s necessary for public services w ere situated, w as defined and clearly identified both by its location, w hich w as in the centre o f the city (in or near the m arket place), and its shape, for exam ple w ith a tow er - sym bol o f a self-governing municipality. Throughout the evolution o f the Town Hall during the Renaissance, Baroque and C lassicist periods and until the nineteenth century its shape w as always m onum ental and elegant, em phasising the optim um arrangem ent o f the
surrounding space as w ell as the functions o f the building. The history o f architecture is studded with significant examples, such as Siena, Prague, and here in Poland Zamość, Gdańsk, Sandomierz, Poznań and others.
In contem porary architecture Town Hall still occupies a great role in city life, especially in countries in w hich much o f governm ent is devolved to the local level, and Town Hall has to express the pow er o f this local authority. The point at w hich the population and its local authority m eet is a very important public place in the tow n’s space. Below are some examples from around the w orld o f town halls o f different sizes and types, presented according to the date o f construction.
Boston City Hall
The design o f the Boston City Hall was selected in a com petition in 1962. “It was w on b y a firm o f young architects - K allmann, M cKinnell & Knowles. But more important than the means
were the results, w hich established a powerful, tantalizing direction for A m erican architecture.” [5] Their w inning design was executed in 1963- 68 (fig-1).
The architects o f the city hall linked the plaza in front to the very heart o f the building w ith a continuous carpet o f red brick. “The red brick paving is a traditional Bostonian feature; it is used here not only for that reason but also as a means o f uniting building and square and o f sym bolizing the breaking down o f barriers between the people and their city government, w hich w as the central philosophical aim o f the architects.
The council chamber, w ith a large w indow directly over the m ain entrance, is linked w ith the square by a stair tow er faced with the same red brick.” [6] This connection o f public space and Town Hall is the main interesting point o f this design.1
1 Exhibition galleries and access to the m ayor and the city council are reached by w ide flights o f stairs. The top four floors, w hich form a rectangle around a central light w ell, accom m odate departm ental offices. The dom inating regularity o f their fenestration, as opposed to the variation below , states cellular offices, rather than public areas. The
The Town Hall.. 69
Tokyo City Hall
This building, designed by K enzo Tange and constructed in 1986-1991, is one o f the most important in Asian architecture. “The com plex is located in Shinjuko, one o f Tokyo's m ost im portant sub centres, and spreads over three contiguous city blocks. It is lim ited on the w est by Shinjuko Park and on the other three sides by office buildings and a m ulti-level interchange. M ost o f the adm inistrative offices are housed in tw o tall buildings on the park
side, w hereas another building directed m ore tow ard the public
stands at the other end, around the public square.” [4] (fig.2)
T ow er I, located betw een the square and the park, from the 33rd floor divides into twin towers, w hich reach a height o f 243 m. The upper part o f tow er II, 163 m high, progressively decreases in size, in a stepped arrangem ent in relation to Tow er I, to form a com bined profile at the sum m it o f the buildings [4], The tops o f these towers are rotated 45 degrees, lending the static bulk a tw isting upwards motion, w hile the central lower section between is set slightly back.
Some say that it looks more like the hom e o f a global corporate giant than the local city council.
W hatever sentim ents it arouses, this office complex reflects the m odem Asian architectural sensibility.
Fig. 2. Aerial view o f Tokyo City H all, photo by O sam u M urai. Shinkenchiku Shashinien [4]
Encamp Town Hall
Suso Vergara, Juan G arcia-Bores Espi and Jaim e V iaplana Ferrer, w ith their design for the
tax, registration, and licensing bureaus are located in a three-story semi separate brick w ing whose daily contact with the public is acknow ledged and expressed on the exterior. [5]
N ew Town Hall in Encamp entered in the international com petition held in mid-1988, were determined to break traditional architectural moulds. W ith their daring, innovative ideas, they wished to break dow n these barriers and radically change the m onotonous appearance o f the architecture in their small country [3] (fig.3).
“The building is situated in the centre o f the town o f Encamp in the Principality o f Andorra.
The slight slope o f the large site enhances its unique and personal character. The surrounding landscape is spectacularly rugged and m ountainous, typical features o f m ost parts o f this sm all country. It w as, in fact, the im portance o f the natural surroundings, w hich led the architects to establish a close link betw een the construction and its setting. The im m ediate result is that the new structure m im ics the setting by m irroring the m ountainous landscape surrounding it” [3].
“ In its own w ay it is a celebration, rather than a rejection o f the m arvellous natural scenery o f the region” [3].
Fig. 3. General view o f Encam p Tow n Hall, photo b y Fig. 4. N ew M urcia City Hall, photo by
Francesco Tur [3] D ucciaM alagam ba [7]
New Murcia City Hall
N ew M urcia City Hall, constructed in l9 95-1998, is an im portant example o f the expansion o f the Town Hall tow ards the neighbouring buildings. In the early medieval city o f M urcia, the N ew City Hall, designed by Rafael M oneo com plem ents the premises o f the nearby seat o f the
The Town Hall. 71
local authorities. The building fills a gap in the Plaza Carden Belluga frontage, created after an eighteenth-century house had to be pulled down. The City Hall facade is fully autonomous but excellently harm onised w ith the character o f the place [7] (fig.4).
London City Hall
In the M ore London M asterplan, N orm an F oster’s urban architecture project, the G reater London Authority (GLA) building covers an area that is at present the m ost interesting part o f the city - on the south bank o f the Tham es near to the tourist attractions Tow er Bridge and the Tow er o f London [8]. The m ain feature o f the interior is a 730-m eter long spiral ram p staircase curving through all ten above-ground storeys to the top o f the building. This is open to the public, allow ing citizens to view the G L A ’s activities [1], The open, legible nature o f dem ocratic policy is sym bolised by the transparent dividing structures (fig. 5).
The pioneering architects o f these Town Halls - and m any others around the w orld like Toronto, Saynatsalo, K urashiki, and O ttaw a - w ere fully aware o f the necessity o f m aking these institutions o f m odem dem ocratic society architecturally m anifest, each in his own w ay in relation to its environment.
Bibliography
1. Barker D., Architecture Week, the new magazine o f design and building, no. 136, 26.2.2003.
2. Cerver F. A., City Squares and Plazas, New York, Hearst Books International, 1997.
3. Cerver F. A., New Architecture, vol. 4, Special Buildings, Ediciones Atrium S.A, Kayo-Sha, Tokyo;
1992
4. Cerver F. A., The World of Contemporary Architecture, Konemann, Cologne, 2000.
5. Kidder Smith G. E., Source Book o f American Architecture, 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1996.
6. Koeper F., American Architecture, Volume 2 (1860-1976), the MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1983.
7. Kusztra M., Murcia City Hall, Architekura, Warszawa, 1.2000.
8. Markiewicz-Baumann K., Brzuch Lorda Fostera, Architecture & Biznes, Cracow, 1.2003.
Fig. 5. London City Hall and its surroundings, photo by N igel Y oung [ 8]
