Zeppelins in the Meier of The Hague
Art as acoustic treatment
The acoustics in the second hall of Richard Meier’s City Hall in The Hague were so poor that the doorman could not understand the names of visitors when they announced themselves.
The first proposal, to line the interior with white faux fur and seams made of vinyl bands with
silver snaps, was not taken seriously by the client (he did not even dare propose it to Meier).
The following proposal was to install three large colored zeppelins, 7 meters long
and 2 meters in diameter. Each Zepp contains 30 square meters of sound absorbing Rockwool. The final proposal was in accordance with Meier’s demands; this resulted in two zeppelins, one yellow (the sun) and one green (nature). (Sic!) With the new mailboxes and a Bruynzeel Antisone counter of beech wood, just enough square meters of open window were left to achieve an acceptable acoustic quality. Fortunately, the doorman was quite happy with his resonance-damping objects in the team colors of FC ADO Den Haag.
Client: Kantoren Fonds Nederland bv
Location: The Hague
Year: 1997
Met Mans Hofhuis en TentTec