Antwerp's town hall was officially opened in February 1565 and since then has been one of the city's most important icons, a very significant part of its heritage. In February 1936 the building was classified as a monument and since 1999 has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the group inscription of belfries in Belgium and France. The town hall is the most important early example of Renaissance architecture in the Low Countries, with its typically Flemish variation on the style of Florentine palazzi. At the time, it was a synthesis of the local gothic building tradition and the innovative Italian order for facades.

On the occasion of its 450th anniversary and the departure of the administrative services from the town hall, Antwerp city council wants to restore the building to a more authentic form and function. The aim of the project is to optimise the operation of the town hall in terms of use and organisation and to reassign part of it to other activities, while taking account of the valuable elements that building history research has brought to light.

The town hall is to become a political centre with a transparent public function where all the aldermen and party representations are accommodated. The city council aims to restore the relationship between the currently closed ground floor and the Grote Markt by means of public and/or public functions for the benefit of the citizens. In this way it will once again be able to fulfil to the full its public function in the historic heart of Antwerp.

An additional aim, while taking a respectful attitude to its worth as a monument, is to give the town hall a contemporary role (with contemporary standards of comfort). In order, at the same time, to be able to guarantee the sustainability element of the restoration, a tailormade BREEAM evaluation report will have to be made and substantiated as part of the competition file. The building's performance can then be positioned within the general frame of reference for other buildings evaluated in the same way. The city council aspires to a score of 'very good', with 'good' as an absolute minimum.

The feasibility study that preceded this assignment shows that it is essential to take an integrated approach with a multidisciplinary team and with an emphasis on 'restoration'.The various disciplines will include experts in restoration and the preservation of monuments, movable and immovable heritage, conservation methods, architecture and interiors, energy, sustainability, management and property. A sound knowledge of 'the law on government contracts' is essential. The head of the project must have at least 10 years' experience, excluding traineeships, a large part of which must be experience on valuable heritage sites. Antwerp City Council can make a financial commitment up to the moment of drawing up the final plan. Apart from that it is convinced that in the course of future years it will find the necessary resources to be able to finance the entire project. The complexity of this project will compel the building team to take a lead from the 'law of progressive insight', whereby the policy-makers will also call upon the design team to reflect with them on ways this project can be achieved within the given budgetary framework as set by both the city council and the subsidising bodies, and to join in the search for potential ways of generating funds and to gear the design and planning to this process.

The architectural brief runs in distinct stages and parts, each with its own term of completion and its own budget and is not tied by any pattern or timing concerning the form of the parts or stages, on the understanding that the service-provider is no longer held to his tender if the parts or stages are not officially set up within a total term of 15 years.

The design team must comply with the stipulations in the Resolution of the Flemish Government (14 December 2001 and including later amendments) that sets the grant levels for restoration work on classified monuments. Candidates must include in their portfolio the details requested in the Resolution of the Flemish Government (including later amendments). You will find more information here. When the new Immovable Heritage Act comes into force, the design team will have to adapt to it, insofar as this is necessary, in order to enable the city council to apply for a restoration grant.

Fees:

An overall percentage for architecture, stability and technical installations (including acoustics): 10.7% calculated on the basis of the total cost of construction (excl. fee for EPB reporter and safety coordinator for design and construction).