Elif Tinaztepe, Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL)
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In Dordrecht, the finishing touches are currently being put on the new Dordthuis: a public hub comprising a new city hall, a citizen’s service centre, library, tourist information centre, and office spaces for the civil servants of the municipality of Drechtsteden.
SHL has cleverly integrated the substantial program for this building into a compact location between the old city center and the train station. The building has a largely wooden supporting structure and features several ‘squares’ spread throughout the building.
Elif Tinaztepe, architect and partner at SHL, works extensively on public buildings and is responsible for the design of the Dordthuis. She was previously involved in the design for Dokk1 in Aarhus, which, with a mix of public programs and dynamic design both inside and out, reoriented that Danish city towards the water and created a new space for public and cultural engagement.
At SHL, she is a driving force behind Library Lab, an initiative that considers the future of libraries. She is now applying lessons learned from their research to the renovation and expansion of Helsingborg Central Library. This design, which also features a wooden supporting structure, will add a new, open reading and learning landscape and open up the existing library to the city park beyond.
SHL is an independent division of the global firm Perkins & Will and, among others, has previously designed the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.