schmidt hammer lassen-Designed International Criminal Court Breaks Ground in The Hague

The groundbreaking ceremony for the first permanent premises of the International Criminal Court (previously on Bustler) took place yesterday, April 16, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The 54,500 sqm / 586,633 sq ft building complex designed by Danish schmidt hammer lassen architects is expected to be completed in the summer of 2015.

Project Description from schmidt hammer lassen architects:

The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. It was founded in 2002 and has grown to the present-day size of 122 member countries.

“To the victims, to their families and to the world, the ICC premises must communicate respect, trust and hope. Therefore, this building cannot be anonymous; it must have the courage to express the values and the credibility of the ICC. As a consequence, the ground-breaking marks the transformation of the values of the ICC into physical reality,” explained Mr Bjarne Hammer, Founding Partner and Creative Director at schmidt hammer lassen architects.

Located close to the North Sea, the new Court building is set in the rolling dune landscape on the edge of The Hague. The main concept is a sculptural arrangement of buildings in the landscape. It appears as a landmark that expresses the eminence and authority of the ICC, while at the same time relating to a human scale. 

schmidt hammer lassen architects won the prestigious architectural competition to design the permanent premises of the ICC in March 2010. Since then, the project has been developed in close collaboration with the client and the Municipality of The Hague. During the process, several user-group consultations have been conducted.

Key to the decisions made in the process has been to transform the values of the ICC –transparency and accessibility – to be an integrated part of the building design. Special attention has been paid to the development of a new custom-made facade system designed of a composite material known in the aviation and wind turbine industry.

Project Details:

Architect: schmidt hammer lassen architects
Client: The International Criminal Court
Area: 54,500 m2 GFA with up to 1,200 work stations
Competition: 2008 - 2010, won in restricted international competition
Status: Construction 2013 - 2015
Engineer: Royal Haskoning, Esbensen Consulting Engineers (in competition stage)
Interior Design and Art: Bosch & Fjord in collaboration with schmidt hammer lassen architects (in competition stage)
Landscape architect: SLA
Project management: Brink Groep
Contractor: Courtys