Forum Groningen required an investment of 101 million euros, however,1.3 million visitors per year are expected to visit the new attraction.
Translated by Hans de Preter & Charlotte Hardy
Bringing the city to life
As reported by the Groninger Ondernemers Courant (in Dutch), the primary purpose of the Groninger Forum was to bring what some considered to be a ‘dull’ part of the city center to life. Ten years ago, many city centers in the Netherlands were struggling. Groningen needed something extra to attract more people to the city center, which eventually lead to the development of the Groninger Forum (including the library).
Many visitors expected
The library must ensure that it is always busy and lively in the center of Groningen, but apart from the library, the Forum has much more to offer. The expectation of Dirk Nijdam, the director, is that the Forum will receive 1.3 million visitors per year, although he refers to this as an ”economical estimate”. He continues, ”The library and the cinema on Hereplein already attracted 1.1 million people a year. It seems obvious to me that we will go far beyond that”.
Long construction time
The construction of the Forum took eight years and, above all, a lot of patience. For example, the construction of the prestigious project, which started in 2012, was halted for almost a year because design changes were needed to make the building earthquake-resistant. The extra costs, 68 million euros, were paid by NAM. The building has now been described as “The most crooked, but at the same time also the most safe and earthquake-resistant building in the city,” by the director Dirk Nijdam.
The facts at a glance:
Design and construction: NL Architects & BAM
Height: 45 meters
Floor area: 17,000 m2
Cost of construction Forum: About 90 million euros
Installation costs: 13 million euros
Construction time: October 31, 2012 to November 29, 2019
Photo: Groninger Ondernemers Courant
