Keith Williams Architects was invited by the town council of Leimen, near Heidelberg, Germany, to prepare designs for the Neubau Rathaus Stadt Leimen (Town Hall).
Leimen is a town in north-west Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is about 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Heidelberg and the third largest town of the Rhein-Neckar district after Weinheim and Sinsheim. It is also the area’s industrial centre.
The concept envisaged an elegant, rational, economic, sustainable and beautifully crafted civic building of clear contemporary expression but would fit harmoniously with the existing historic townscape context, whilst reinforcing the important street pattern the characterises the district.
The project was organised with a clear distinction between functions and departments, each sized and positioned in accordance with the specified areas and interrelationships. The council chamber was located in a double height vaulted space that overlooked both the town square and churchyard, within a bridge element which enabled external pedestrian flow through and beneath the building at street level.
The distinctive profile of the roof form alluded to the existing pitched roof townscape but marked out this building as both contextually sensitive and a special civic element within the historic town centre.
Client : Stadt Leimen
Programme : 2013
Area : 3160m2
Budget : €15 million
