New town hall

Some weeks ago I received an assignment which really tested my need to control my working process and for this very reason I jumped at the opportunity.

The city of Skanderborg is in the starting process of building a new town hall. A part of this process involves a lot of different employees and brainstorming meetings where they use different creative technics and speakers to help them verbalize the areas which are important to them. As employees and to the citizens who will be using the town hall on a daily bases.

I was called in for at small piece of the process. The day started of with brainstorming in groups and I went around and listened to their words and took a bunch of notes. After this I had 1,5 hours to make a visual interpretation of the essence of what I had heard while walking around the groups. I had to make 6 moodboards because there were 6 groups who needed to use my artwork as a new and extended brainstorming platform. In addition to my work and meanwhile I was working (like a horse because the time was very short )the employees listened to a lecture about bee hives and how bee´s live. This was also a part of helping the employees think differently and reach out of the box while brainstorming.

The information we gathered during the day was to be collected and presented to the contractor and the architect and from this core information they will make the perfect new town hall.

I have chosen to show 3 examples of the photo collages / mood boards and shared a couple of the meanings behind them.

This first moodboard illustrates the need for flexibility. Both the people who will be working there but also the building, offices, and rooms. So the space can be used for different things. Maybe even so it is possible to exercise while working. An important value was also working together, which there will have to be made space for.

This mood board shows the wish to share knowledge and grow together. So spaces need to be made so this is possible, maybe this means a different canteen design. Another important item was the need for a shared path/ compass and a captain who can help them through the rough seas, this was very important to them but is more regarding the leaders and not the buildings.

Light and big areas with lots of space was also a top wish for the employees. This can mean good ventilation, tall ceilings, great lighting and maybe special lighting during the winter ( which prevents winter depression.) Big window areas so the outside can be invited in could also be a good idea.