Amare is a state-of-the-art performing arts center located in The Hague, Netherlands. It serves as home to the Dutch Dance Theatre (NDT), the Resident Orchestra of The Hague, the Royal Conservatoire, and the Amare Foundation. Seamlessly integrated into the city’s urban fabric, Amare stands as the vibrant heart of The Hague Cultural Centre.
This striking and internationally acclaimed building was designed through a collaboration between NOAHH, JCAU, and NL Architects, commissioned by The Hague City Government. Much of Amare’s space is open to the public, offering unprecedented opportunities for diverse uses and community engagement.
Amare’s design embodies the concept of a “multiverse,” adding significant vitality and multifunctionality to the urban core. This city complex operates around the clock, with its lower level forming an inviting and accessible passageway open to all.
The center is a dynamic cultural and social hub, featuring a central square nestled between large buildings, with streets and alleys weaving throughout. Walking through Amare feels like journeying across various cultural dimensions. Alongside its four large auditoriums, the building houses small studios dispersed throughout, fostering a unique environment where students, professionals, and the general public coexist.
The internal connectivity between the Royal Dutch Academy of Music, The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Dutch Dance Theatre encourages spontaneous interactions, enhancing creative collaboration.
The building’s exterior is elegant and distinctive, featuring a rhythmic design that is both understated and confident. The façade incorporates a series of openings reminiscent of theater curtains and spacious walkways, seamlessly extending the urban spatial texture into the building itself.
These organic, tree-like façade structures are crafted from precast concrete components. Behind them, the vertical windows of the music studios and office spaces stretch from floor to ceiling, creating strong visual connections with the street and allowing passersby to glimpse the activities inside.
Thanks to its rich variety of materials and colors, Amare accommodates diverse environments within a single building. Each auditorium features distinct and recognizable exterior finishes: the dance theater is clad in bamboo, while the music hall is enveloped in golden metal plates.
The surrounding halls reflect their respective atmospheres. The dance theater’s interior is deep coal black, inspired by the historic Lucent dance hall, and features movable wall panels that provide adaptable acoustics suitable for dance, speech, and opera performances.
The concert hall’s interior embraces classicism, with unique concrete walls and gold sliding panels that can be adjusted to optimize acoustics. Acoustic excellence at Amare is achieved through the expertise of Federico Cruz Barney from DAP Studio in Paris.
Recognized for its scale and complexity, Amare has earned the BREEAM “Excellent” certification, setting a benchmark in sustainable development. BREEAM emphasizes that sustainable energy is just as crucial as technology, quality, satisfaction, and user-friendliness.
The building’s roof is fully equipped with solar panels, and it creatively repurposes existing underground parking facilities. Amare is also an “inclusive building,” designed to be open to all people. Remarkably, birds and bats even find refuge among the tree-branch-like structures on the exterior.
Project Drawings
△ Model Diagram
△ Model Diagram
△ Base Schematic Diagram
△ Underground Floor Plan
△ First Floor Plan
△ Second Floor Plan
△ Third Floor Plan
△ Fourth Floor Plan
△ Sixth Floor Plan
△ Section Diagram
△ Section Diagram
△ Section Diagram
Project Information
Architectural Design: NOAHH
Area: 50,000 square meters
Year Completed: 2021
Photographers: Ossip van Duivenpole, Katja Effort
Suppliers: Boon Edam, Emco, Finesse, Gielissen, Harryvan, Hi-Con, Homij, Interiorworks, Intos, Metadecor, Mobelli Contract Seating, Van Keulen, Westo, Zuidkoop
Lead Architects: NOAHH, JCAU, NL Architects
NOAHH Design Team: Patrick Fransen, Stephanie Lama, Pieter Benschop, Aafke de Bode, Geert Mol, Ilse Bakker, Rimaan Aldujaili, Bilal Karaburun, Elisa Zampogna, Paul van Dijk (Studio Deep Blue), Dania Di Pietro, Serena Fanelli, Barbara Busslinger, Irina Margarit, Ashkan Hashemkhani, Magdalena Nalepa, Amaia Oyarbide, Onne Walsmit, Daan van Westen, Alexander van Nalta, Albert Laarman, Reijer Pielkenrood, Loes Thijssen, Ivo Brandes, Mick Madder, Paulina Kapczynska, Marielle Wetter, Kristina Kosic, Blaz Solar, Valeria Obino, Mirce Mladenov (Renderji), Ed Both (adviesbureau Both), Laura Nazzari, Stella Makri, Maartje Nuy, Sebastiaan Boer, Eleonora Gaudini, Valentin Kobes, Paola Rapana, Anna Odulinska, Alma Holm
JCAU Design Team: Jo Coenen, Thomas Offermans, Laurens Cobben (LC Arch), Xenofon Moraitis, Luciënne Bregman, Willem Lucassen, Mark Haenen, Cas Bonnema, Eline Blom, Anne-Sophie Kortman, Guido Schot, Domenico Nava, Wouter Hagers, Yuri Buteijn, Paulos Kinfu, Cees van Giessen, Javier Pinazo, Jeroen Sprangers, Sada Shirafuji, Cristina Bestebreurtje
NL Architects Team: Kamiel Klaasse, Pieter Bannenberg, Walter van Dijk, Gen Yamamoto, Sarah Moeller, Kirsten Huestig, Giulia Pastore, Ernesto Yélamos Quesada
Contractor: Construction Combination Cadanz (Boele & van Eesteren | Visser & Smit Bouw)
Location: The Hague, Netherlands
Must log in before commenting!
Sign Up