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OFFICE BUILDINGS CASTALIA AND HELICON (MINISTRY OF HEALTH, WELFARE AND SPORT)
M. GRAVES, SOETERS VAN ELDONK, 1993-1998, Parnassusplein 5, Den Haag
ARCHITECT(URAL OFFICE):
Sjoerd Soeters
Michael Graves
Jos van Eldonk
ORIGINAL DESIGN:
Lucas & Niemeijer
BUILDING TYPE:
Office buildings
Government buildings
Hemmed in on all sides by buildings that run the complete gamut of modern architecture from the 1960s to the ‘90s, is this postmodern enclave to a masterplan by Rob Krier. ‘De Resident’ stitches the low-rise of the old town centre to the high rises of the business district centred on The Hague Central Station. A new tram route from the station to the city hall compensates for the built-over tracks. Once the area had gained a new diagonal axis and a horseshoe-shaped central public space, a team of name architects from home and abroad directed by Krier and Sjoerd Soeters was enlisted to design the panoply of high-profile buildings. Michael Graves tacked an ‘Old Dutch’ facade and two outsize pointed gable roofs onto the concrete frame of the Transitorium, a 1960s office tower constructed using the jackblock method. This and Soeters’ own trio of stepped towers together house the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.