De Passerel by JDWA – Johan De Wachter Architects.

Description of the project by JDWA – Johan De Wachter Architects.

July 2014 JDWA project De Passerel in Apeldoorn has been completed. For care institution De Passerel we designed twenty new group homes for people with a mental disability. In September the residents will move in their new apartments and homes.

Southern Canal Area
The Southern Canal Area in Apeldoorn will be redeveloped into a vibrant district on the canal where a number of monumental buildings remain iconic for the area. Amidst some working-class houses we designed twelve apartments and eight homes for people with a mental disability, in a scaled up house near the canal.

House with two barns
De Passerel House includes twelve group homes for people with a mental disability. The smaller barns
around the vegetable garden are home to eight compact dwellings for the same target group.

The group homes line the street just like any other ordinary house. The brick facade and tile roof confirm this image. The garden side of the house is identical to the front yet mirrored and lifted, creating space for the transparent shared living room. Thus the hood, that points to the inner garden, obtains character and expression. The smaller barns have a one-sided orientation: direction garden. The garden facade is maximum transparent, with closed parts in wood. Each resident has a private piece of pavement, but the
playground and vegetable garden are their actual garden. The steel profiled shed roofs and back facades face the adjacent plots. Here the barns present themselves as outbuildings on the backyard of these properties.

The project marks the informal route that crosses the whole neighbourhood; the homes may become an exception. In the garden there is place for vegetable gardens used by the new residents. There is also space for informal interaction with the local residents and a playground for the smallest children of the area.