Architecten has been decidedly integrated into the elegant historic city centre of The Hague. The building, which houses a staff of 350, verges on large: 104 meters long, 22 meters deep and 27 meters tall. These dimensions, with the measured vibrancy of its facades, add some allure to this part of the city centre. The plane trees and six legal scholars in bronze seated on pedestals make for a wide gateway on the Korte Voorhout, a royal route leading to the buildings from Parliament. The entrance hall seems to have been chiseled from a solid block of marble. It serves as a sturdy base for the superstructure of glass panels and slender latticework. These and other ostensible contradictions seem to reflect the work of the Supreme Court itself. Open and closed, distinguished and functional, hard and ethereal, rough and refined – all exist alongside routine business, on which judgments are passed with great clarity of mind.

法院建筑的空间结构较为复杂，必须在有限的空间内组织出多条不交叉的流线，让前往旁听的城市居民、法院内部的工作人员以及需要出席审判的涉案人员互不干扰。进入建筑后直通办公空间的道路，连接法官工作区和法庭的道路，甚至卷宗运输的独立路线，这些建筑内部看似理所当然的不同流线其实是建筑师的心血结晶。法院作为公共建筑，不仅需要面向公众开放，建筑内部也需要有服务于群众的设施，比如法庭内的旁听坐席和法庭外的等候空间。但同时，建筑内也需要有让工作人员不受打扰的办公空间，让他们可以全神贯注地处理审判前后期的工作内容。

 

建筑师经过谨慎和小心的设计，确定了建筑的形态及其与外界的关系。铜像被整齐地排列，放置在建筑前方低矮的平台上，成为建筑与街道间的过渡空间。通透明亮的建筑立面让建筑在这个井然有序的市中心突出而不突兀。通过单个建筑小尺度的空间变化，达成大尺度城市设计中需要的空间效果。通过局部体量的凸起，建筑与周边环境产生了呼应。内部空间层数的划分在立面上也清晰可见。在一层，6米通高的落地玻璃让城市和建筑底层空间仿佛连为了一体。

 

A court building is by definition a complex structure, because it must have various routes of circulation that cannot intersect. Routes for the public sitting in on sessions, for the Council and Procurator General staff, and for the detainees escorted for their sessions in court; all are separate from one another. The staff have their own entrance that opens onto their workspace. The justices have their own way to the courtrooms. Even the dossiers have their own route. It is a mark of achievement that a solution was designed that allowed all the routing to seem completely natural.

 

Given the public nature of jurisdiction, court buildings need to be accessible to the public. They are not only open to the public, they also have facilities for the public, visitors galleries in the courtrooms and waiting areas in front of them. On the other hand, court premises must also provide excellent conditions for work that requires a high degree of concentration and work that takes place behind closed doors.

 

The positioning of the building in regard to its location was chosen resolutely and with care. The low plateau with its row of scholars creates a subtle transition. Through this zone the building attaches itself to the street and its breadth is moderated. The way in which the top line has been sutured ensures a soft presence and inclusiveness within the orderly roofscape of this part of the city. Larger-scale urban design is successfully achieved by way of smaller-scale architectural choices. The so-called ‘backpack’ is also an example of subtle insertion. This extension at the building’s back reaches out and connects with the surroundings. The glazing fits into the same story. The six-meter high windows on the ground floor pull the space of the entrance hall into the city.

 

▽ 设计分析图design diagram(体量，volume; 建筑入口和公共区域，entrance location and public area; 建筑形象，glass conscience; 公园侧视角，from the Malieveld park; 城市与建筑，the city and the Supreme Court; 公共活动区域，public space)