Danish team schmidt hammer lassen architects (SHL) have won a competition to design the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Their design will clad the façade of the court with a composite material chosen for its durability and sustainability, and the design as a whole has been assessed as BREEAM Excellent.

The court will sit among dunes near the sea and the city, and will be made up of six connected buildings, with a central Court Tower containing a façade of plants. This façade is an extension of a garden floor, described by the architectural jury as “an inner private park area”, containing plants from all 110 ICC member countries. The buildings will also benefit from ample daylight.

“It was evident that connecting the dune landscape with the edge of the city had a striking potential. By designing a compact building with a small footprint, we propose to return the landscape to the city,” said Bjarne Hammer, co-founding partner and creative director of schmidt hammer lassen architects.

http://shl.dk/eng/#/home/about-architecture/library-culture/den-internationale-krigsforbryderdomstol/description