Leiden City Auditorium

The plan is part of the urban renewal plan for Aalmarkt and the surrounding area, which links two central shopping areas, around the Haarlemmerstraat and around the Breestraat.
The project concerns the extension of the existing City Auditorium, situated between the Breestraat and the Aalmarkt, with a small auditorium seating 350 people, an adjoining foyer with own entrance, built-in logistics bay, kitchen facilities, a foyer for the existing large auditorium, an artists' foyer, offices for the City auditorium and a shop of approx. 1000 m2 on the Aalmarkt. The small auditorium must be suitable for autonomous use and as part of the total complex.
The building location comprises the foyer and office volume to be demolished, a number of adjacent monumental buildings which require adaptation and the Aalmarkt school, which has a striking facade and which is due for demolition.
In the Aalmarkt plan, the location holds a strategic position as a link between the two shopping centres. At the Aalmarkt school site, there is a shop located on ground floor and basement level, as part of the Aalmarkt shopping route. An alternative, romantic route through the building block has been proposed via gateways and a so-called cultural garden to be created. The striking facade of the Aalmarkt school cannot be saved, due to the poor condition of the building, the demand for a basement in the shop and the limited budget available.
The design makes provisions for rebuilding of the old Aalmarkt school facade with a number of adaptations. The 1.5 metre high parapets under the windows have been removed and new floor to ceiling windows created for the shop. The volume of the small auditorium upstairs has been increased thanks to the addition of a zinc roof. This facade now also includes a gateway to the cultural garden and the access route to the built-in logistics bay. Part of the “monumental facade” has been rendered mobile in the logistics bay in order to give access to large trucks.
The adjacent monumental building has been transformed into an entrance and lift point. Small adjacent monumental buildings are now home to an artists’ entrance and artists' foyer. In contrast with the historic character of the revised Aalmarkt school facade, the foyers and offices overlooking the cultural garden are modern and transparent in nature. Due to the planned wooden slats which function as exterior sun shades, this facade complies with the scale and materials in the context of the neighbouring monumental rear walls of the Walloon church and the so-called apothecary on the Aalmarkt.
The orientation from inside out towards the wonderful surroundings, the views of the Aalmarkt from the small auditorium and from the foyers and offices to the cultural garden dominated by the mighty copper beech makes these areas very special indeed, even without the music.

description of the (types of) architecture applied
The extension is apparent via the revised Aalmarkt school on the canal and forms an urban garden within the historic structure of the surrounding block of buildings. It was essential to retain the facade of the Aalmarkt school, due to social sensitivity issues, it was eventually rebuilt in a historic fashion, with minor adjustments to enable new functions. The zinc of the curved roof on the new auditorium was also used in the courtyard garden in order to give a modern urban yet sensitive architectural style, in combination with the wooden slats.