Throughout history the “urban square” has functioned as a space which creates a direct connection between the public entities, the residents, and the rest of the city.
In the case of the City Hall Square of Netanya, we endeavored to create such a square. Our approach was to refrain from building one tower which is indifferent to the street and instead, to introduce a “campus” of municipal buildings that provides an integral public space designed to serve the residents of the city of Netanya, as a generous and active urban square. The city square allows for a true democratization of the urban domain and at the same time it functions as the heart of the city. In this way, it represents the most appropriate architecture expressing the purpose of the municipality in a democratic society that is meant to serve all of its residents.
The City Hall – a Horizontal Icon Construction of a City Hall provides a tremendous opportunity to create an urban icon, but in our view, not an arbitrary and ostentatious image erected above the citizens, but rather one of a shared democratic vision that evokes equal participation.
Beyond being an office building and a public service center, the City Hall building also represents municipal authority. In order to express architecturally, the notion of this authority in “eye to eye level” communication with the residents, our proposal divides the volume into four buildings of a more human, democratic, and accessible scale. To achieve this idea, the four buildings will be connected together on the first floor with a public level, which creates a functional and spatial continuity between the ground floor and the square, and all the interior public areas above. This level will welcome everyone as it leads them to all public services and cultural facilities within the campus.
This is therefore “iconic”, not in an obvious and grandiose manner, but instead expressed through a real, integrated and memorable architectural element of our shared connection. It will be a prominent, identifiable icon in the urban landscape, imbued with modesty and an integral part of the city activities. The City Hall will become the framework for viewing municipal life, through the lens of architecture, where people are the performers in the ongoing dynamic urban show.
