ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
of the landscaping. Playfully arranged windows offer views of the gardens and park greenery from all spaces. The garden walls’ heights differ in each unit, ensuring age-appropriate, safe environments for all service-users. Scattered along the new public
thoroughfare between Langemeersstraat and Groeningepark are four monumental artworks. The sculptures are tightly geometric, in a subtle balance of planes and volumes, and each has its own character. One is closed, the other rather scenic or elevated. Artist, Henk Delabie, said: “The colourful architectural sculptures are intended as meeting places, where one can sit, lie, and lean. They invite you to become part of the sculpture. They excite passers-by through both their colour, shape, and proportions, and their glossy, tactile surface.” Referencing the demolished school,
glass art created by artist, Maurits Nevens, is incorporated into the glazed walls on the first floor, with the school’s original foundation stone integrated into the facade. All these elements meet the client’s request to design an environment that supports the healing process. Aesthetics and cosiness take the lead, while robust materials provide the necessary stability. Embodying social, economic, human, and environmental factors in its design, this new CAMHS facility was realised through close collaboration between VK’s team of architects, interior architects, and engineers, the care provider’s Management team, and the city of Kortrijk and its Beeldwkwaliteitskamer (BKK – see ‘Further reading’ section, starting below). This intense collaboration has elevated the building to a particularly high level in terms of architecture, interior design, technology, and integration in the city. During a participatory process, every
concept was tested with users through weekly consultations, study visits to reference projects, and involvement of the BKK (‘Image Quality Room’) from the outset of the design process.
Part of the city A care building is not an island in the city; it is part of it. The new building proudly asserts its presence in the streetscape. The playful volume – with an uplifting accent from the sports hall on the first floor, the new bicycle and pedestrian connection
Frederique Lievens
Frederique Lievens studied architecture at the Sint Lukas school of arts in Gent and Brussels, joining VK architects+engineers in 2007. Today he is one of the practice’s senior designers, specialising in the design of mental healthcare facilities and elderly care homes. One of his first projects with the practice was the FPC in Antwerp, a forensic mental health high-risk facility. He subsequently worked on the masterplanning for several other mental health facilities, including Sint-Truiden, Beernem, and Mortsel, and designed the new CAMHS facility in Kortrijk, and elderly care homes all over Flanders (in Zonhoven, Bredene, Deerlijk, Zwevezele, Kleit, Dendermonde, Avelgem, and Alveringem), and the learn-and-innovation facility, RADar Learning & Innovation Centre, at the AZ Delta General Hospital in Roeselare. He says: “Together with our team of architects, interior architects, and engineers, we always aim to add value, by integrating our projects into their surroundings, and by creating positive spaces and healing environments that focus on the well-being of patients, staff, and visitors. We also aim for an exemplary approach in sustainability for every project we undertake.”
THE NETWORK | AUGUST 2023 39 Classrooms, creative spaces, and a sports hall (pictured), are present as large spaces on the first floor.
from street to park enhancing the park environment, the garden walls balancing security and encounter, the playful visual language, child-friendly use of materials and finishes, and colourful artworks that invite you to linger – are all examples and symbols of our positive design strategy, and help to reinforce the socialisation and integration of mental healthcare in Flanders. Kristof Vankeirsbilck, managing director
of Group Care. H. Familie, said: “With this new building, we are making an important investment for our hospital, and laying the foundations for further professional support for children and young people who are struggling psychologically. The new infrastructure will not only provide more space and comfort, but also allow for efficient operation. Within Group Zorg H. Familie, many similar projects are planned for the coming years; over this period we also want to update the infrastructure and develop new concepts for our elderly care services. The healthcare sector more broadly is changing and evolving, and we have a social responsibility to make the right choices for the future.”
Further reading l In March 2019, the Image Quality Room (BKK in Dutch) was created as part
n
of Kortrijk’s ‘image quality policy.’ The BKK’s role is to assess the major ‘image-determining’ projects in the city more broadly, and provide clients and designers with a sounding board for consultation ‘in order to arrive at a supported project’. The BKK reports directly to the city’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and its advice forms part of the building permit process. Its website says: “The BKK aims to promote the architectural quality of the built environment, understood as a synthesis of qualities in the field of urban environment, heritage value, use and experience, image value, construction technology, energy, and cost management. The BKK uses the urban building regulations, the image quality plan, and the inventory of architectural heritage, as the main instruments for assessing the submitted proposals. Before submitting an (environmental) permit application for projects at an important location, and/or with a special impact on the city’s image and environment, the BKK assists clients and designers in the development of their construction projects.”
l Bouwen aan de Zorg.
https://www.bouwenaandezorg.eu/
Courtesy of Klaas Verdru
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