The Hague, 06 November 2008


Jury chooses best design for new International Criminal Court building an international jury chaired by Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands, Liesbeth van der Pol, has selected three winners for the international architectural competition for the new International Criminal Court building in The Hague. In the months ahead, the International Criminal Court will consult with these three firms under equal terms, starting with the winner. The International Criminal Court plans to commission work at the start of 2009 from the architect who has the best design and fulfils all the other award criteria.


Prize winners

The winning architectural firms are:

1. Ingenhoven Architects, Düsseldorf, Germany
2. Schmidt Hammer Lassen / Bosch & Fjord, Århus, Denmark
3. Wiel Arets Architects & Associates, Maastricht, The Netherlands


The three winning designs were selected by the jury from 19 entries from all over the world on the basis of criteria as incorporation into the urban fabric and surrounding landscape, architecture, safety and sustainability.

 

Pre-selection

The application phase of the architectural design competition was closed on 1 April 2008. The pre-selection by the Jury has taken place on Thursday 15 and Friday 16 May 2008.

Twenty offices from 171 applications have been selected on basis of the criteria as mentioned in the announcement and as laid down in the Competition notice.

  • Architectus Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia
  • Atelier Christian de Portzamparc, Paris , France
  • Claus en Kaan Architecten, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • David Chipperfield Architects, London, United Kingdom
  • Henning Larsen Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Ingenhoven Architects, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • JLCG arquitectos, lda, Lisboa, Portugal
  • Kengo Kuma & Associates, Tokyo, Japan
  • Mangado y Asociados, Pamplona, Spain
  • Mecanoo architecten, Delft, The Netherlands
  • Moshe Safdie & Associates, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
  • Neutelings Riedijk Architecten, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Nikken Sekkei Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
  • OMA / SeARCH, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  • Sauerbruch Hutton GmbH, Berlin, Germany
  • Schmidt Hammer Lassen / Bosch & Fjord, Århus, Denmark
  • Springall+Lira / bgp, Mexico, Mexico
  • Stein Halvorsen / ARCASA, Oslo, Norway
  • Wiel Arets Architect & Associates, Maastricht, The Netherlands
  • Xaveer De Geyter Architectenbureau, Brussels, Belgium

 

 

Competition task

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded in 2002 when the Rome Statute, which was adopted in 1998, came into force. Currently 105 countries have become parties to this International Treaty. The ICC is an independent and permanent court that prosecutes those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The establishment of this Court is a milestone in the development of international justice.

The aim of this project is to construct permanent accommodation for the ICC on a prime site bordering the North Sea dunes and the city of The Hague and covering over 72,000 m². The ICC and the host State of The Netherlands share the conviction that the new ICC premises should provide suitable working conditions, functionality, security and ecological fit.

Within the premises, up to 1,200 workstations, courtrooms, and various ancillary facilities will have to be provided with a total gross floor space of up to 46,000 m². Furthermore, parking facilities as well as plans for two expansions of 150 workstations each are foreseen. The spatial and functional design should take into account the need for flexibility and scalability on the long term.

A worldwide architectural design competition will take place in order to select the best architect for this unique project for which this is a call for candidature. The competition is organised by the Chief Government Architect of The Netherlands. It is a restricted anonymous project competition that begins with an open application for candidature, followed by a pre-selection of up to 20 participants and a design competition.