Grootkapel

On the rolling landscape of a former farmer’s field, today enclosed by suburban development, a new care and recreation centre for the elderly is taking form. The plan is articulated in such a way as to leave breathing space between the new building and the surrounding urban fabric while realizing the necessary programme for a community with a growing need for such facilities. Its form articulates and frames a new park, the façade analogous to a kind of populated garden wall. At the point where the building meets the public domain, it opens up formally and functionally, making a link between the world of the residents and the broader community – a place to meet, which is something the area doesn’t have at present. On a smaller scale, the residents’ windows are designed to be as inhabitable as possible – acting as a piece of furniture as well as offering a window onto the world.