2011 Digna HansenDigna Hansen - WOONZORGBOERDERIJ - ALDENEIK
A PUBLIC GOAT FARM AS THERAPEUTICAL PLACE FOR MENTALLY DISABLED COMBINED WITH INDEPENDENT LIVING


Aldeneik, a small village near the water, and once dominated by agricultural activities, creates the rural setting for a large-scale project where mentally disabled people can both live and work in a protected environment. Independent housing is combined with a goat farm, open for public and completely managed by the residents of the project. The duality of this programme not only makes context and project respond as two things cohering but also approaches the aspect of care for mentally disabled from another angle. While the inhabitants of Aldeneik and tourists are able to enjoy workshops and local products among other things, residents manage to develop motoric and social skills in individual ways by working on the farm.

With the exact placement of the project I aim to define a boundary between Aldeneik and the area where housing suddenly starts to disappear in a subtle way. Manifestation of large-scale architecture is kept to a minimum by placing most of its volume below ground level. Green roofs of the residential units are used as grassland for the goats and only public functions slightly rise above ground level with a geometrical simplicity. Like this the project has no trouble at all asserting itself in its small-scale context without losing the extraordinary sense of an architectural presence while passing. The horizontal layering of functions makes interaction between residents and goats possible trough the use of patios, in another way they confirm the private character of this part of the programme. Hollowing out the space in between the volumes creates a lower outdoor area for private and public spheres. These two inevitably interact and create architecture that involves the ability of independent living for its residents.

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