Woonzorgcentrum Stede Akkers

In the case of the residential care centre in Hoogstraten, by Osar architects, the logic of scale is turned inside out. The human element is incorporated into a monumental scale, with 154 care units located above a basement-level social services centre and an inner garden. The architects started out from a deliberate staging of the collective in four six-storey closed housing blocks, each of which is bisected by two fully-glazed levels. The eight communal platforms form a panopticon that looks out over the hustle and bustle of the complex. The substantial distance, and also the twist in the angle between the blocks, ensures that inward-looking views present scenes of everyday activities, rather like scenes from a tableau vivant set against a backdrop of town and fields. While the closed floors with their compact rooms are conceived more traditionally, the living rooms are open areas each shared by nineteen residents. The rooms for the staff can be found in the solid central core.

Author: Caroline Voet. This text has been published in the Architecture Review Flanders N°11. Embedded Architecture.