't Huis: attractive care campus with focus on small-scale homeliness

From dated rest home to versatile care campus: Kortrijk recently made a quantum leap thanks to the realization of 't Huis. One of the main focal points in this large-scale renovation operation was the construction of a new residential care center to replace the fiercely outdated wzc Sint-Jozef. The emphatic focus on a small-scale living model - maximally supported by the beautiful architecture - and the high-quality interior finish made the 132 residents feel right at home.

Wzc Sint-Jozef had long been a fixture in the Kortrijk care landscape, but its best days were long gone. Dating back to 1966, the building no longer met fire standards and room size guidelines. Architecturally, too, the complex had deteriorated over the years, including remarkable extensions in mirror glass to give each room its own sanitary facilities. Since renovation would not do much good, OCMW Kortrijk decided to completely renew its campus based on a master plan. To this end, it launched a design competition back in 2014, which was won by assar architects. "Our idea was to erect a new residential care center with some additional functions behind the existing rest home, so that we could realize it in one phase and guarantee continuity of care. The old building would then make way for a new park in the second stage," says architect-partner Geert Bekaert.

An inventive concept that clearly caught on, even if it took some time before construction work effectively got underway. A first important key word characterizing the new residential care center is small scale. "The building has three levels and consists of eight orthogonally connected building blocks that together form two H-volumes with 64 rooms each. Each unit consists of two living groups with 16 rooms, with each living group further subdivided into two residential houses with eight rooms. These residential houses are located in the vertical beams of the H-shape. The horizontal part houses the semi-public functions and services (nursing station, day and dining rooms, wellness, kitchen and storerooms). In the two nodes of the H-shape, the volume is in turn perforated by two patios that provide light and air. Through this specific configuration, we want to promote cohabitation on the scale of a "family" of eight. In addition, the board deliberately chose to give each living group its own kitchen, which flows seamlessly into the living area with the TV and reading corners of the residences. All of this makes it more pleasant not only for the residents, but also for the staff, thanks to the centralized logistics and minimal walking distances. We have received nothing but positive reactions to it," Bekaert beams.

A second predicate that applies strongly to the new residential care center is homeliness. "We absolutely wanted to avoid the 'utilitarian', almost clinical feel of many other residential care centers," interior designer Yann Neyt emphasizes. "In the common areas and circulation areas, we therefore resolutely focused on a stylish finish with warm tones, natural materials (wood accents, terrazzo countertops in the kitchens, etc.), trendy lighting, cosy furniture, etc. We really worked on the details, right down to the semicircular wooden handles in the hallway. In this way, we have created a homely setting that the management can fill out even further according to the needs and personal preferences of the residents. In the rooms, too, we stayed as far away as possible from an overly clean look-and-feel and aimed for a hotel feel, including sufficient variety and personalization options. Because these are spacious and flexibly furnishable rooms with wide dimensions, the residents can choose where and how they place their beds, set up their own lounges and so on. They can thus freely fill in their living and sleeping areas without sacrificing comfort and necessary amenities." 

A third important pillar within the design is that the residential care center does not stand alone, but is embedded within a broader care campus. "The building is equipped at the front with a large canopy that creates a lively promenade and provides access to all functions on the site. Indeed, the complex also houses care facilities for approximately one hundred children, a multipurpose room with bar and storage (part of the local service center), a cozy cafeteria that exudes a bistro feel and a day care center. The residential houses of the residential care center are located behind and above these public parts, so that the residents enjoy the necessary privacy," Bekaert explains. "Soon, the existing rest home will make way for a public park with a playground, which we hope will become a pole of attraction for people from outside. Thus, the step to visit the residents of the residential care center will be a lot smaller and the classic negative connotation of a 'rest home' will be out of the question. The pleasant small scale is omnipresent, even though in terms of surface area it is a large building containing numerous functions. It helped us enormously that the builder and contractor were completely on the same wavelength. In this way, we were able to fully implement the homely residential care philosophy and arrived at a brilliant end result."