For the design of the ‘Huis van de stad’ the following ideas were taken into consideration:

• In the first place, the ‘Huis van de stad’ should be an open house, a building that is bright and transparent, both literally and metaphorically. The brightness of the building must make it an apparent building for both visitors and users, where everybody can find his/her way without further explications or signposting.
• The building was designed together with its immediate surroundings: the new square is an extension of the town hall and vice versa. It is therefore the intention that both the square and the building merge into one another, complement and strengthen each other.
• The building consists of three layers: an underground storey with the car park for users and visitors, the archives and the technical rooms.

Most of the public services and a large number of meeting and consulting rooms are on the ground Floor. Opposite the entrance of the ‘Huis van de Stad’ there is a central reception desk which is the registration point for all visitors. On the first floor we find the ‘less public’ services, the wedding-room, the council chamber, the burgomaster’s office, the town clerk’s office, and the chairman of the Social Service Department’s office.