Consolidating activities from 16 different municipal buildings now scattered around the city, the new city hall will focus on the municipality’s interaction with the public. The programs are categorized based on levels of accessibility to the public, and introduce the concept of the “Urban Salon”.
Located next to the historical city hall building, the project is a new building which unites all of the municipal departments into a complex that is clear and accessible to the citizen. The building consists of seven floors above the ground, the first five floors are occupied by the municipality and the upper two levels are planned for office letting. On the ground floor is planned an open coffee space and a public square at the street level – making a smooth transition between the exterior and the interiors of the building. The building will include a wide variety of functions including the municipal office, the city administrative functions, the archives, the waiting areas, an urban center, a service center for the residents, a plenary hall and an emergency control center (first basement floor). The public spaces concentrate all the services and activities. The program is not only organized according to departments, but also by means of accessibility to the user, enabling direct communication between citizens and the authorities. This scheme enables the municipal departments to organize effectively along with the building – the circulation leads visitors along with the public program without interruptions. A five-story public parking lot (containing approximately 220 parking spaces) will be built on the sub-floor, which will enable a significant addition of parking spaces to the crowded urban center.
Project architect: Smadar Efrati
Team: Ido Aziz, Lihi Yalin, Rany Mahameed, Keshet Rosenblum, Moti Roimy, Oded Fux, Ofer Ellen, Gal Yaakobi
Landscape architects: Marina Parhomovsky, Zivya Freider