In a protected environment, the outside world is brought inside

Park Vossenberg is a special, especially sustainable place. "With the brand-new residential care center De Vossenberg at the center of the park, it offers dementia care in the heart of the Kaatsheuvel community," says project leader Vicky van Kuijk. The initiators' starting point is clear: provide care in a protected environment that extends beyond the entrance and brings the outside world inside.

The first phase of Zorggroep Elde Maasduinen's Park Vossenberg project on Antoniusstraat is complete. In a U-shape, it provides space for 89 care apartments, four rooms for temporary residence and comfortable spaces where residents can relax together. At a later stage, when the dated residential care center De Vossenberg at the front of the park is demolished, about fifty more apartments, both social rental and private sector, will be added.

During the tour, Van Kuijk talks incessantly, has a friendly smile for the workmen and technicians who are putting the finishing touches on the apartments and also casually answers their questions. She feels at home at Park Vossenberg. Not surprising when you get to work day after day on such an ambitious and innovative project and watch it unfold. "This is where the residents of the dated main building De Vossenberg and the even more dated Het Kompas come together. No, we no longer have wards. The residents have a two-room apartment with kitchenette, bedroom and adapted bathroom. There are no living rooms either. In five meeting rooms, the activities match the interests of the residents." 

The names speak for themselves: De Heeren, De Huiskamer, De Tuinderij, Wellness and Het Atelier (see box Vervoort). "The idea is that the residents find their own social environment in the different rooms," he says. Nor is there any question of an imposed program, so late there and so late that. "Of course many residents have fixed patterns, we are not going to change that. We provide day care with a professional eye." When care comes up, Van Kuijk points to the comfort that De Vossenberg provides. "Well-being eases the circumstances and therefore often the pain. We cannot make our residents happy, but with our knowledge and expertise we can contribute optimally to happiness in life. A beautiful environment certainly helps with that."

According to Van Kuijk, the comfortable building provides the structure that residents desire and lends itself to providing individual, customized care. "Care that suits their clinical picture, but we are averse to an imposed social structure. We have taken stock of what residents and loved ones are used to and we want to continue that after the move. This applies to both current and future residents." In addition to the residents and their families, staff, informal caregivers, client council and university researchers were involved in developing the concept.

Outside, the eye catches the Energy House. Park Vossenberg is not only socially but also economically and environmentally sustainable. "We are self-sufficient, gasless, get energy from our own solar panels and the building is equipped with a heat pump. The paving also has a sustainable character (see box TTO). Rainwater will be collected in the yet-to-be-constructed pond. The 'overflow' is a watercourse adjacent to the park. Greenery rules at Park Vossenberg. The monumental trees have been preserved and private individuals from Kaatsheuvel are already busy gardening in the allotments. It is one of the examples where outside is brought inside. It is where earthen walls ensure that residents can freely visit the allotments, enjoy a strawberry or other fruit and stroll along the beautiful paths flanked by decades-old chestnut trees. Naturally, the apartment building is bustling with home automation, but we do not put our residents behind closed doors. Natural obstacles are the boundaries such as earthen walls, among others." That bringing the outside in also applies to the chapel. Officially withdrawn from worship, it serves as a bar/restaurant. The atmospheric space still recalls times when the fathers had their services there. It has been restored and furnished with respect for the building. Acoustic walls ensure that there is no reverberation, which is often characteristic of a church building. It is a place where residents with their loved ones and residents of Kaatsheuvel can enjoy rest, a cup of coffee, lunch or dinner from the excellent kitchen. It may be clear that knowledge, skill and expertise at Park Vossenberg come together in ultramodern buildings and beautiful, green surroundings. "Letting residents enjoy themselves in freedom and preferably together with 'tout' Kaatsheuvel, as a starting point."  

Claudia Stalpers of Vervoort Meubelen beams when she talks about the furnishing of the meeting rooms in De Vossenberg in Kaatsheuvel: "The warehouse here is full of furniture and accessories. We can't wait for the delivery." 

She already has the picture of how the interior of The Heeren, The Living Room, The Garden House, Wellness and The Atelier will be on her mind. "An atmospheric and above all appropriate environment for the people and their situation." As examples, she gives at De Tuinderij "a Green table," at Wellness "soft cuddly materials," at Het Atelier "a beautiful cork wall where creative excesses can have a place," and at De Heeren "rich materials. Stalpers may do the narration, but she praises the input of the Vervoort studio and, in particular, colleague and interior designer Mischa Grijzen. "She had a fine sense of what De Vossenberg wanted, from furniture to upholstery." Thijs Murré's name also falls into the conversation in Vervoort's appealing showroom in Goirle. This interior designer focused on the former chapel where the seating supplied by Vervoort comes into its own. Besides the meeting rooms, Vervoort also takes care of the furnishing of the staff room and offices in the new building of De Vossenberg.

Lighting plays an important role in healthcare because it improves both the patient experience and the ability of staff to deliver the required level of care. 

In this regard, LED lighting is not only a sustainable choice, but can also improve the healthcare environment and reduce costs by saving energy and improving operational efficiency. POP Light's latest LED technology creates a soothing atmosphere for your patients and a dynamic work environment for your employees.

Basic lighting, more complex fixtures with different types of controls, colors and biodynamic LED lighting are among the possibilities at POP Light. For project Park Vossenberg, POP Light took extra care to create an even light pattern, to create the most peaceful environment possible for the residents. 

You can tell from the expression of Leon van Roessel, director of TTO Demolition & Infra (Tilburg), that the Park Vossenberg project appeals to him. "Very special what is coming off the ground here," he says. Van Roessel is referring not only to the former chapel, but to all that is happening around it. 

TTO Demolition & Infra's responsibilities at Park Vossenberg include earthwork. "Infra both above and below ground," says Van Roessel. "In addition, we take care of the landscaping of the park." The construction of the sewers and garden lighting are also in expert hands at TTO Demolition & Infra. "We started archaeological and munitions research here in 2018. That led to nothing. However, a 'small spot of soil contamination' did need to be addressed." As his people pave in the background, Van Roessel takes a clinker in hand. "We work with expensive baked materials here. Colorfast clinkers, which provide the right tone at Park Vossenberg." He praises the short lines of communication with the client and says this is extra motivating. He also switches to the very beginning of the job, the demolition of ánd the construction of the new allotments. "There is already busy gardening there, a nice result to build a bridge with the outside world in this way." Needless to say, Van Roessel is proud that TTO Sloop & Infra was chosen in the tender. Not only because of the price, but also because of the expertise. The latter is reflected in the section that has already been completed.