Alpharetta City Hall is a new, 47,000 SF multi-use building anchoring the 22-acre Alpharetta City Center development. The building was designed to honor the rich history of Alpharetta and the greater north Georgia region. Simultaneously, the city’s leaders desired a building that would speak to the community’s future aspirations of continued growth and prosperity.
The new City Center is seen widely as the reestablishment of this historic downtown, and thus it was important that Alpharetta City Hall set the aesthetic tone for this future development. The Mayor, City Council and other stakeholders were very clear in their desire for a building with traditional architectural character. We sought to draw inspiration from the few bits of surviving downtown, as well as the beautiful courthouses and town halls of north Georgia. The planning (terminating an axis) and massing (tall central bay with flanked by two-story wings) directly respond to these local and regional influences. The three-story-plus-basement structure is topped by a domed cupola, evoking the traditional town halls and courthouses of the region. The facade, primarily of a red brick blend with buff colored cast stone banding, door and window surrounds, and detail elements, highlights the local flora in its iconography.
Alpharetta City Hall’s primary public spaces, the Council Chambers, a pre-function gathering space, large multi-purpose room, and Alpharetta History room, are all located on the first floor. Upper floors contain various municipal government’s departments, including the Mayor and City Manager’s offices and administrations as well as Community Development. The lower ground floor, which opens to the south garden and can be directly accessed from the outside, contains offices for permitting and community development.
