Lying south-west of the centre of Apeldoorn, the post-war district of Orden is marked by an open planning structure, repetitive rows of four-storey blocks of flats and terraces of low-rise. The acute shortage of housing for the elderly in this district with its rapidly ageing population prompted this redevelopment project of four rows of old-age apartments. The task was resolved in characteristic PRO fashion.
The result can be described as a mutation of the original open planning structure. PRO focused most strongly on the undeveloped interstitial area which before then had merely been left-over space. Having the two central rows of new-build billow out has created a hollow exterior space: a contained court decked out as a water-garden with climbing plants. Atria constructed between the bulging sides of these central rows and the straight outer rows access the four new-build blocks in pairs. These atria give a sheltered living climate which the architects feel best meets the wishes of the elderly residents.
Each apartment is a three-room unit so configured that the rooms can easily be combined. The straight blocks have jutting balconies facing out; the units in the curving blocks sport French windows. This distinction between 'hard' outside and 'soft' inside is echoed in the materiality of the buildings.
Awards and nominations
- Architecture award Gemeente Apeldoorn, 1997
- Novem award, architectural integration solarheating, 1996
