The building is situated in the foreland of the Maas in the Maastricht Randwyck office district, on a spot where the Randwyck fortification once stood. The administrative part of the Gouvernement lies on a small island in the Maas, the former Sint-Pieterseiland. The arm of the Maas between the two parts is called Papenwater.
The Gouvernement was built between 1983 and 1985 to a design by architect Gerard Snelder in collaboration with Dick Elffers. Snelder opted for a strong articulation of the building in perpendicular office wings, connected by stairwells (recognizable from the outside by the pointed roofs). The 18 building blocks, which decrease in height towards the Maas, are covered by pent roofs and have a concrete skeleton that is filled with brick. The brickwork gives the building a strong tectonic character. This construction method, typical for Maastricht, refers with a wink to the local architectural style of the Maaslandic Renaissance.
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