Following the flood, municipal employees have been dispersed across multiple temporary sites, working partly from home and partly in fragmented teams. The absence of a shared workplace hinders collaboration and citizen service.

Inspired by Venlo’s Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) city hall in the Netherlands, Stolberg set out to design its own future-proof workplace — one that would combine sustainability, wellbeing, and modern ways of working. The challenge was to translate ambition into a clear vision that could guide political stakeholders, architects, and employees through a multi-year rebuilding process.

• Cradle to Cradle (C2C): Together with municipal and political stakeholders, we defined the sustainability ambitions for the architectural competition — including circularity, healthy spaces, and energy efficiency.

• Activity-Based Working (ABW): Through analysis of current and future work activities, employee workshops, and trainings, we co-created a shared vision for flexible and collaborative work.

• Spatial & Functional Brief and Technical Specifications: We translated the C2C and ABW goals into detailed spatial and technical requirements covering hybrid work, structure, ventilation, lighting, acoustics, and sustainability.
  

Key outcomes so far:

• A clear and widely supported vision and goals for the project.

• Defined spatial and technical frameworks for sustainable design.

• Strengthened collaboration between administration and politics.

• A model for how public institutions can link sustainability, wellbeing, and modern work.
  

The new administrative building will rise beside the historic city hall, which will continue to host the council chamber and ceremonial events — symbolising connection between Stolberg’s heritage and its future.