NL Architects has completed a huge cultural complex in Groningen, which is set to become an important landmark for the Dutch city.
Billed as a "cultural department store", Forum Groningen contains a wide variety of facilities, including cinema screens, exhibition galleries, an auditorium for performances and talks, library facilities and workspaces.
At its heart of the building is an elaborate multi-level atrium where the public will be encouraged to meet, work and spend time.

"It is such a big gift of the government to provide a comfortable place for its residents to hang out without the obligation to consume," explained NL Architects co-founder Kamiel Klaasse.
"We hope it will become a kind of living room for the locals. A place that you return to frequently, but also a place to work," he told Dezeen. "If I worked in Groningen I would probably give up my office and move in the Forum permanently!" he joked.

The building is 11 storeys high and clad in stone, matching the Bentheimer sandstone that features on many of the city's best-known structures, including the Martinitoren steeple and the City Hall.
It has a multi-faceted shape, which NL Architects created by starting with a rectangular block and subjecting it to a series of "slices".
"The tapered shape was conceived with the objective to reduce the visual impact of the immense volume, to make it look more friendly," explained Klaasse.

"One type of sl...