Completion Kop van het Dok: keystone for a renewed city area in Vlissingen

For the past ten years, atelier PRO has been intensively involved in the transformation of a historic but deteriorated part of Vlissingen city centre - former shipyard 'De Schelde’ - into a new, lively city district: the Scheldekwartier. Friday 16 June saw the festive completion of the literal and figurative keystone of this development, housing complex Kop van het Dok.

Our involvement in the area began in 2013, when WVO zorg commissioned us to transform and expand the former sheet metal factory into Residential care centre Scheldehof. This complex has space for somatic housing, psycho-geriatric units and assisted living, as well as a mix of public facilities such as a brasserie, studios, a cinema, a theatre, a hair salon, shops and a car park.

With Kop van het Dok, 180 'regular' homes have been added, offering a mix of social rent, mid-rent and owner-occupied homes, with a potential outfitting to offer in-house care. The completion of the project has created a whole new city area around the old shipping dock, where all Vlissingen residents - from young to old - can feel at home. The neighbourhood offers a growing diversity of housing for the elderly - from housing for people who still need a lot of care to housing where people can simply live independently - right in the middle of society.