Care complex Maisbaai is located in the Dok harbour in the city centre of Middelburg on a site with a rich history that forms the border between two distinct worlds. The northern boundary consists of a series of historical buildings on the Kinderdijk whereas the south is facing an urban plan build in the 80’s by Aldo van Eyck. In the 17th and 18th centuries the site used to function as a shipyard where hundreds of ships were built on site for the Dutch East India Company. The four new buildings, united by their gently sloping roofs, form a distinct ensemble that address the end of the harbour. The ensemble is divided into components of various scales in order to create a strong relationship with their diverse neighbours. The housing programme consists of three elderly communities mixed with social housing. The living environment was specially designed for its inhabitants, which suffer from a psychogeriatric disorder, in such a way that they could maintain to live as comfortable and normal as possible. Since many of the residents are homebound, the collective living rooms are provided with large windows overlooking the harbour and the public square centrally located in the plan. Despite the variety of functions accommodated within the ensemble, the buildings can be read as one unified volume due to their consistency in form and material expression in the brickwork balconies.
View Original