There is currently no existing building that fulfils the requirements of the ICC with regard to safety measures, necessary facilities and appearance.
The International Criminal Court is temporarily housed in the Arc complex, an office block that is already too small, with just over 800 workstations. Two courtrooms have been squeezed into the building, while the garage has been converted into a press centre. There is a lack of waiting rooms, public galleries and rooms for witnesses or victims. There is no disabled entrance, nor are there any detention facilities in the vicinity.
The establishment of the ICC in The Hague is an important step for the development of The Hague as the international city of peace en justice. Besides ICC, also the International Court of Justice, ICTY, Lebanon Tribunal, OPCW, Europol and Eurojust are based in The Hague. It underlines the Netherlands’ focus on promotion of peace and justice by hosting international organisations in general and the ICC in particular.
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Since 1998 The Hague local authorities and the Government Buildings Agency have surveyed various possible ICC locations. They looked for an accessible urban site with the correct spatial characteristics. The Alexanderkazerne site is an ideal location in many ways:
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it is situated close to the detention centre for persons suspected or convicted of international crimes;
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it is close to major roads;
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it is part of the International Zone of The Hague
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it offers a large site which allows for longer distances for security measurements, integrated in the landscape
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The owner – which is ING Real Estate – will decide what to do with it when the current tenant leaves.
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- Selection of the architect: 2009
- Start design phase: the design phase started in March 2010 and is due to be completed the end of 2011
- Tendering and contracting: second half of 2011 and beginning 2012
- Construction: start mid 2012
- Construction: completion September 2015
- Building in use: December 2015
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The foundation stone of the Permanent Premises will be laid the 1st of July 2012, this day being the tenth anniversary of the coming into force of the Rome Statute.
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The main characteristics of the new premises are the following:
- Sculptural composition of square buildings, which serves as a very impressive and interesting architectural gesture and a great contribution to the city with an attractive integration into the landscape.
- A compact building with a small footprint, minimising the land use and return the landscape to the city; the sky and horizon become an integrated part of the architectural composition.
- Courtroom tower located in the centre of the design
- Office buildings built on a common basis
- Public area on the ground floor with gardens and a mirror pool
- Common area for staff on first floor
- Landscape is ingeniously used for security
- Transparent building
- Sustainable building: low energy, green roofs, water management, ecological corridor, careful landscaping
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The design of schmidt hammer lassen met all the ICC criteria, such as functionality, design, sustainability and costs.
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schmidt hammer lassen architects is a Danish company. It was founded in 1986, it has 5 offices (Aarhus, Copenhagen, Oslo, London, and Shanghai) and 150 employees of 20 nationalities.
schmidt hammer lassen architects is a very well equipped firm to take on projects such as the new ICC building. It has proven its abilities in the past. Recent projects involved:
- The Salt Crystals Hotel and Congress Centre in Helsingborg, Sweden (won in 2010)
- University building in Aachen, Germany (won in 2009)
- Thor Heyerdahl College (opened in 2009)
- City of Westminster College (opeping in January 2011)
- University of Aberdeen New Library in Scotland (topping out ceremony in October 2010)
- The Crystal and the Cloud, Copenhagen, Denmark (opening fall of 2010)
- The first zero-energy office building in Denmark at Grøndalsvej in Viby (won in 2009)
A selection of the completed projects:
- The Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark
- ARoS Art Museum, Aarhus, Denmark
- Halmstad Library, Halmstad, Sweden
- Nykredit Headquarters, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Amazon Court, Prague, The Czech Republic
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In the Netherlands, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism (NCTb) is responsible for determining the level of threat. Consultations will then be held on the security measures to be taken. The security in public areas will be guaranteed by the Dutch government; the security for the site and building is up to the ICC.
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