City Hall Eppingen | Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei

The municipality had decided in the 1980s to house its administration in an empty school building on the edge of town. The reason was the lack of space in the old town hall in the town’s old centre. But the location’s disadvantages became obvious after a few years. So, in the light of local history and culture as well as of the need for citizen-friendliness, it was decided to renovate the classicistic town hall and extend it with a new structure.

The heart of the original building, a listed monument, is its interior circulation space. The old staircase, with its original stonework at the lower level, was constructed of wood on the upper floors and had been altered several times. The suggestion of replacing it with a new structure was initially rejected on grounds of conservation and respect for tradition. It was only after two years of persuasion that we were permitted to construct the most important spatial element for the town hall. Today the staircase is the pride of the municipality.

The new building is directly connected to the old town hall. It is particularly striking for its windows, which are configured in zigzag folds prompted by the restricted urban situation – the distance to the neighbouring building at the south is very small. Inside, the line of sight is directed outwards to the left and to the right, as with oriel windows. Their triangular projections make the relatively small offices seem much bigger.

Whereas the new building has white rendering, the historical town hall façade was brought back to its original, sumptuously colourful appearance, based on pictures of it from the 19th century.