Johan De Wachter Architects, together with the client, developed Huis van Droo, a new style of community center, as part of the master plan for Droo-South, Duiven. Huis van Droo (literally, House of Droo) will be the heart of the Droo-South area, with a new sports hall, neighborhood lounge, a child daycare center, and paramedic services. The project was completed in January 2012.
Master Plan, Droo-South Area
The Duiven municipality wants to develop Droo-South to be the center of a neighborhood transcending residential service. JDWA worked together with the Duiven municipality and Andries Geerse on the master plan for Droo-South. The aim is to provide housing for both younger and older people who require care, so they can live amid their family, neighbors, and friends. The heart of the housing and service area must not become a large foreign body with a care label. The challenge is to develop a residential area that derives its appeal from the (natural) mix of residents, the presence of low-threshold facilities and services for both young and old, comfortable homes, and a relaxed atmosphere in the public space.
‘Box-in-a-Box’ Program
“A sports hall is per definition a closed space, which does not add to the liveliness of the public space in the area,” says Principal Johan de Wachter. “By wrapping the central sports hall with all the other public programs, the building becomes active in all directions and can become the lively center of the neighborhood.”
Materialization
The all-round Huis van Droo is a transparent building; the true façade is the inner façade of the sports hall. A wooden façade wraps the central hall and the closed program elements and is consequently sometimes an outside, sometimes an inside façade. This idea is illustrated with large glass ‘holes’ in the inner façade of the sports hall, where the public interacts with this otherwise closed space. Through this materialization concept, the building is always recognizable, though different from all sides. The interiors of the individual residents, on the other hand, are a very specific match to each public function. The resulting image of the building is a well-defined timber (outside) and glass façade in combination with (inside) a variety of characteristic individual interiors matching each specific user.
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