This 1,460 sqm project by Möhn + Bouman BV is part of a larger campus renewal for a community of people with disabilities. On the border of Schiedam (Netherlands) and its rural surroundings, the campus comprises this newly renovated daycare centre along with a housing facility currently at the design stage.
The centre has been stripped of unnecessary details and painted dark brown. It has also been provided with high quality wooden terraces on all sides which in turn are wrapped by a wooden screen. In keeping with the local environment, the screen is constructed from chestnut wood and blends into the rural setting.
At entrance areas, the screen’s shape adapts and frames the activity with printed glass cut into the wood, creating a sleek, modern contrast with the rougher, natural materials.
The glass prints, made by artist Carol Fulton, continue throughout the interior of the centre as they surround the new lobby in the heart of the building. They form a panoramic view of the coppiced chestnut grove, forming a visual association with the screens outside.
In the heart of the lobby a polyurethane drop rises from the floor. This contains the main kitchen and the sanitary units, and the material creates another tactile contrast.
Due to the cognitive constraints of the primary users of the building, the sensory experience of their environment becomes exceptionally important. Incorporating this aspect of the client’s need, along with staging spatial experiences, was the key theme in the design process, resulting in what Möhn + Bouman suggest could be termed ‘Performance Architecture'.
Credits
Client: Ipse de Bruggen Foundation
Architect: Möhn + Bouman BV / René Bouman
Artist: Carol Fulton
