An innovative typology for lifecourse social housing
Recently 17 lifecourse social sector rowhouses have been realized in the new neighborhood De Markiezaten in Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands. The project was designed by architecture firm Sputnik from Rotterdam. Sputnik was commissioned the project in 2010 by the housing corporation Stadlander.
The houses should be suitable for elderly people as well as young couples. Therefore the bathroom and a master bedroom are located on the ground floor in addition to the living room and kitchen. The bedroom can be used as flexible extension to the living room. To fit the houses with those extra spaces on the plot, a special housing type was developed, making use of a, so-called, bonus-beech.
The project is part of the Makiezaten district in Bergen op Zoom. According to the urban plan the houses should contribute to a "thirties" atmosphere. Sputnik has met this condition by softening the transition from the street to the interior. It is about the gradations of public to private, for which in the thirties smart architectural tools were used, like niches, small walls, planters, bay windows. In the design for the 17 houses, these tools were translated to a contemporary architecture, anchoring the project firmly to its context. The street facade is built up with a carefully designed composition of brickwork volumes. Bay windows provide wide views over the front garden and the street. The overhangs provide shelter from rain and shade on a sunny day.
