Forum Groningen
The Forum Groningen is a building in the center of the Dutch city of Groningen on the Nieuwe Markt. It is owned by the municipality but is run by the Forum Groningen Foundation. It houses various facilities that are open to the public and some are free of charge every day, including the city library, the VVV tourist information office and the roof terrace, which offers a view of the entire city. As a cultural center, the forum also has cinemas, event and exhibition rooms, cafes and a restaurant.
The building is 45 meters high; the usable area of 17,000 m² is spread over ten floors, which are connected by escalators.
After a construction period of over eight years, the forum was opened at the end of November 2019. The construction costs amounted to 76 million euros, of which 10 million were financed by the European Union.
In the first month after the opening, over 400,000 visitors were counted.
background
After the historic development of the Grote Markt, including the Scholtenhuis , had been largely destroyed at the end of the Second World War, the new buildings were erected on the east side about 17 meters from the original building front. This made the Grote Markt considerably larger, which the townspeople soon regretted because the character of the square had changed. In addition, the rather unattractive post-war buildings were perceived as uninviting. Over time, especially the Naberpassage and the adjacent parking garage became neglected; the area was increasingly shunned.
The Forum Groningen is part of a concept for the renewal of the city center. The aim of the concept is that attractive new buildings and cultural offers direct the flow of visitors back to this part of the city center.
Architectural concept
The planning of the forum was carried out by the Amsterdam architects NL Architects. The design was selected in 2007 by an expert jury from a total of seven; various public juries also voted for this model. The challenge was to create a sufficiently large multifunctional building in a limited space in the middle of the historic old town. The aim was to create a kind of cultural department store that also forms a platform for interaction and debate. For example, the way to the viewing platform via the escalators leads the visitor past all the departments that are freely accessible.
Construction work
For the new construction of the forum and other planned objects as well as for the design of the new square, the Nieuwe Markt, some buildings on the east side of the Grote Markt, which until then formed the so-called Naberpassage; including a parking garage and a cinema. The Royal BAM Group (BAM) was commissioned with the construction ; construction began in 2011.
In 2015, construction work was suspended because the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate ( Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat , EZ) issued new guidelines for earthquake-proof construction. Since several earthquakes had already occurred in the province of Groningen that could be felt as far as the city , the construction plans had to be adjusted accordingly, which significantly increased the originally estimated costs of 70 million euros. The additional work and damage caused by the demolition of parts of the building that had already been constructed was borne by the Dutch state. Due to this construction stop and the necessary adjustments, the opening of the forum planned for 2017 was delayed by two years.
Forum Groningen Foundation
The Forum Groningen Foundation is responsible for all services, activities and programs in the Forum, for the cinema on Hereplein and the other libraries of the municipality of Groningen. In addition to the Groningen library and the Images film theater, the Dwarsdiep debate center and the Groningen adult education center have also merged into the foundation.
Facilities
There are 255 learning and internet workstations available to the public, some of which are located in a quiet work room. In the Smartlab on the sixth floor, there are virtual reality headsets , 3D printers and scanners available to those interested. Various rooms and larger halls can be used for exhibitions and events.
Under the building there is an underground car park in which the 20 meter long LED sculpture “Wervel” (Dutch for “Wirbel”) by Nicky Assmann - on behalf of the Centrum Beeldende Kunst Groningen and with the support of the Mondriaan Fund - was installed. Bicycles can be parked free of charge in the permanently open and guarded bicycle cellar.
Headquarters of the public library
The Forum Groningen is the central seat of the Groningen Public Library, which was located at Oude Boteringestraat No. 18 until the end of November 2019. Further branches are maintained in the districts of Lewenborg, Hoogkerk, Haren , Ten Boer, Beijum, De Wijert, Selwerd and Vinkhuizen.
In the forum, the individual library departments are distributed over almost all floors: The entrance area is where the service for library users and the dispensing machines are located. The latest newspapers and magazines are available in the so-called kiosk on the first floor; On the second and third floors ( Wonderland ), children and young people can occupy themselves with the books, films or games that can be borrowed there. Novels for adults are available in a further section on the third floor. The area is designed like a living room with seating areas, shelves and decorative objects, and games such as backgammon and chess are also available. There is a pool table in the detective and thriller section; there is subdued lighting. The eighth floor is reserved for non-fiction books.
movie theater
The forum has five film halls with up to 175 seats, one of which is designed as a lounge with a bar. Open-air performances are offered all year round in the roof courtyard.
Storyworld
The successor to the Nederlandse Stripmuseum, which was located in Groninger Westerhaven for fifteen years - until March 2019 - is located here under the name Storyworld . Storyworld is dedicated to the subject areas of comic strips, animation and computer games.
Web links
- Official site (Dutch, English)
- Informatiecentrum Groningen Vernieuwt (Ed.): Groningen receives a facelift. Information brochure, March 2018 (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 86f.
- ↑ Forum trekt meer dan 400,000 bezoekers in openingsmaand. NU.nl, December 31, 2019; accessed on January 3, 2020
- ↑ a b groningen vernieuwt. Informatiecentrum Groningen Vernieuwt, March 2016; accessed on March 21, 2020
- ↑ Ons gebouw; accessed on January 4, 2020
- ↑ Kirsten Hannema: In Forum Groningen quote iedereen op de eerste rang. De Volkskrant , November 29, 2019.
- ↑ Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 7
- ^ Forum Groningen Multifunctional Building / NL Architect 14 Dec 2019. ArchDaily; accessed on January 4, 2020
- ↑ Sloop parkeergarageNaberpassage in front of gestaag. RTV Noord, March 23, 2012; accessed on January 6, 2020
- ↑ werkzaamheden Forum van start. RTV Noord, August 29, 2011; accessed on January 6, 2020
- ↑ Jaqueline Knudsen: Bouw Groninger Forum styled. Architectuur.nl, February 16, 2015; accessed on January 6, 2020.
- ↑ a b Dossier Forum Groningen, RTV Noord; accessed on January 6, 2020
- ↑ Informatiecentrum Groningen Vernieuwt (ed.): Groningen gets facelift. Information brochure, March 2018; accessed on January 6, 2020
- ↑ Smartlab; accessed on January 3, 2020
- ↑ Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 84
- ↑ Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 97
- ↑ facilities; accessed on January 6, 2020
- ↑ library facilities; accessed on January 3, 2020
- ↑ Bieb en kiosk; accessed on January 3, 2020
- ↑ Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 25
- ↑ Magazine Forum Groningen, October 2019, p. 26
- ↑ Het Nederlands Stripmuseum, as of November 2019; accessed on January 3, 2020