On Friday 9 March 2018 during an official press meeting the spokesperson announced that diederendirrix will design the expansion of the NIEUWE NOR pop venue. The expansion includes a new hall that will soon accommodate some 700 visitors to pop concerts, dance events and other performances. This so-called “central hall” complements the city’s existing club circuit and is an important new link in the transition of new local talent to increasingly large venues. The new hall will be connected to the existing building by means of a new transparent foyer overlooking Schelmenhofje. By means of a shared, flexible cloakroom the individual spaces can be used both separately as well as in a festival configuration. The café functions as an independent unit. The upper floor of the existing building will be used as changing rooms and recreational/social amenities for artists and crew, deliveries are resolved internally. In the Nieuwe Nor the activities, dynamics and movements of the concert goers are visible from the street. It becomes a scintillating building and an exciting addition to the street scene, to the cultural experience, and to the city. The winning draft design was selected by a committee comprising the municipality of Heerlen, IBA Parkstad and the NIEUWE NOR pop venue. The design was chosen unanimously.

Image: diederendirrix / MdB3D.nl