Forum Groningen

NL Architects (Amsterdam) designed the Forum Building. Their design was selected in 2007 by city residents and a professional jury out of seven designs by international architectural firms.

With its sharp lines, the striking building stands out against the historic city centre like a modern monolith. The building is 45 meters high and has ten floors and a rooftop terrace. The building consists of two 'towers', a West and an East tower, which are connected by escalators that run criss-cross through the building.

Both towers have closed and open areas. In the closed areas you'll find the exhibition halls, the cinema theatres, the multifunctional hall and Storyworld. An entrance fee is charged for activities that take place in these areas. The open areas on both sides of the atrium are freely accessible.

The Forum's interior has been designed by various parties. Architect collective deMunnik-deJong-Steinhauser designed the public gallery, the library collection areas, Wonderland, the Medialab and the Smartlab. &Prast&Hooft signed up for the cinema theatres, the foyer and the Camera Café. Storyworld was designed by NorthernLight. And last but not least, NL Architects are responsible for the design of the entrance hall, the exhibition halls, the multifunctional hall and the offices.

Meeting room with curved glass partition walls of QbiQ at Forum Groningen. Here we placed a single sheet glass wall in a 100mm thick profile. An beige red foil is applied to the glass after installation the wall.

Inside a meeting room at Forum Groningen. Here we placed a single sheet glass wall in a 100mm thick profile. An beige red foil is applied to the glass after installation the wall.

For the engineering of Forum's facade system, the forces released during an earthquake had to be taken into account in addition to the usual wind load and its own weight. That is why it was decided to hang the element facade with more play than usual in relation to each other. A vertical joint of 30 instead of 10 millimeters was chosen. The idea behind it is that if the building is shaken by an earthquake, the elements will not collide. The horizontal joint is also spacious, taking into account possible movement of the floors and the substructure in order to prevent damage and dangerous situations in and around the building. The glass is glued into the curtain wall profile instead of secured in a rebate. The adhesive construction also contributes to extra safety and is able to absorb shocks better.”

The facade parts have the shape of a wieber, part is inclined backwards. Each element is unique and the building is so technically challenging that we engineered it completely in a 3D environment. The interior of Forum Groningen is adorned by a large number of steel interior and lift facades, more than 80% of which are designed as fire separation. MHB was responsible for the engineering, delivery and installation of more than 1,400 m2 of steel glazed (lift) fronts, plated doors, revolving doors and (stairwell) fronts with structural glass. Only in steel. The biggest challenge was the assembly of the elevator doors and in particular the structural glass. The elevator doors are floor-to-ceiling and have a length of about 10 meters each. The glass is structurally glued on the side of the lift shaft. A nice eye-catcher is that the push buttons of the elevator controls are incorporated in the glass.

The Groninger Forum, located behind the Grote Markt in Groningen, will be a meeting place for curious people, full of exhibitions, films, (literary) events, talk shows, various restaurants, the VVV and the new Dutch Comic Strip Museum. On the top floor there will be a sky lounge with restaurant, a roof terrace with open-air cinema and fantastic views of the city. A spacious parking garage for cars and bicycles will be built under the Groninger Forum.