Eksterlaer Residential Care Centre
POLO has been involved in the development of the Eksterlaer-site for many years. Now this large-scale urban renewal project has moved on-site and a green and pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood is taking shape. As one of the key buildings we design a facility for elderly care, completing our vision for a vibrant and diverse neighbourhood where a variety of residents and lifestyles find their place in the sun.
This building is located at a prominent location within the development: in the “hinge” of the masterplan, at the end of the long pond which forms the backbone of the neighbourhood’s central green space. However strong the urge might be to provide a statement piece of iconic architecture here, we feel a certain restrained expression and familiar morphology are more appropriate — considering the future users as well as the context of semi-suburban living in green surroundings.
Classically contemporary
As defined by the masterplan, the building consists of two volumes sitting on an L-shaped podium — one long and high, the other shorter and lower. This breaks up the mass of the building and makes it blend in with the surrounding fine-grained residential fabric.
The overall morphology of the building volume is loosely inspired by the timeless qualities of the Haussmann-era apartment buildings in Paris. The podium is expressed as a concrete plinth, covering the bottom one and a half floors. This is the robust foundation for the building. The top floor on both volumes is set back. The floor slabs in between are articulated as prefabricated concrete strips in the façade, providing a level of detailing and rhythm to the brickwork. Zooming in further, we can see how the masonry’s recessed horizontal joints give an art-deco inspired, layered expression to the building’s façade.
The windows generally stretch from floor to ceiling, inviting copious amounts of daylight into the rooms. Balustrades with vertical bars ensure safety; they are placed within the window openings, except on one floor where the balustrade wraps around the perimeter of the whole building — again a detail reminding us of Parisian façades. These metal balustrades and the window frames are anodised in a champagne bronze colour, its aspect changing continuously with the minute variations in sunlight throughout the day.
Modifications for function and form
While making sense in terms of general building massing, the masterplan-mandated breakup of the building volume — with no physical connections between upper floors — does create some logistical and operational issues. These connections prove to be of paramount importance to the client in order to realise logical circulation routes and ensure operational efficiency. As such POLO Architecture tries to find a satisfactory solution and goes through several rounds of negotiations with the city’s aesthetics committee; finally they agree on allowing our proposal for very transparent, glazed corridors to connect the two volumes at every floor.
We add some interest to the purity of the longer volume through two interventions. On the long side the common living spaces cantilever out, resulting in a localised protrusion. We further distinguish this cantilever through the brickwork detailing: every other masonry course is recessed, a variation on the recessed horizontal joints found elsewhere. This protrusion faces the large central waterbody outside. Similarly, a second intervention results in a cantilevering of the volume’s short end façade near the entrance; this is an expression of the more spacious luxury rooms located there. Besides these bigger rooms, two flats for assisted living are supplied also, on the top floor of the smaller volume.
At the back of the long volume, the building’s upper floors step back in order to minimise the impact for the existing houses of the Dascottelei. This setback creates room for a large communal terrace.
Compact and comfortable group living
The ground floor entrance leads one directly to the reception and cafeteria area — the beating heart of every elderly care facility. Nearby are the offices and administration spaces. Deliveries take place completely separated from the residents’ circulation, ensuring security. As required by regulations, residents’ circulation spaces integrate a number of “rest spaces” along corridors.
A communal, fenced-off garden to the back of the building offers residents outdoor recreation space in a secured environment. The garden dips down to follow the ramp that leads to the underground car park, allowing plentiful daylight to enter into the physiotherapists’ spaces accommodated in the basement. Here is also room for an industrial kitchen if required at a later stage.
At the moment the client has opted to provide small prep kitchens on every floor near the communal living spaces — instead of fitting out the common kitchen at basement level.
