Bennebroek residential care facility blends very nicely into green surroundings

Excellent match of brick and wood-look façade panels

At De Ruyterlaan 141 in Bennebroek, a beautiful, contemporary residential care facility for the Hartekamp Group will open at the end of 2022. The building houses 40 apartments and a location for day care for people with mild and moderate mental disabilities. In addition, the building provides space for a coffee bar, a cake shop and a distribution point of regional products where local residents can also visit. With the new building, the Hartekamp Group is taking a big step in integrating people with intellectual disabilities into society. The building also sets a new standard in housing for the Hartekamp Group.

Two-front door principle

The new building in Bennebroek is based on a new concept, says Kees Opendorp, architect and owner of Maat Architecten BNA. "The core of this concept is that clients can live independently, but - when they need it - can also use care and guidance in the same building. To make this possible, we based our design on the so-called two-front door principle. Almost all of the homes in the building have two front doors; a "normal" front door with a house number and a door adjacent to a middle area. This middle area is a kind of covered street with a green character, where residents can meet for all kinds of activities, but also literally open the door for help or care."

Breaking the length

The 56-meter-long residential care building has the appearance of an apartment complex with mostly brick facades, with the length and horizontality broken up by the rhythm of balconies and awnings. "Moreover, we made incisions in the three-story building volume in various places," Opendorp says. "Sometimes the masonry reaches two layers high, other times three layers, creating the impression of smaller buildings. For the infills that remained, we looked for a light and friendly-looking façade panel with the appearance of wood, but with all the (maintenance) conveniences of fiber cement."

Natural depth and character

Both in and around the new residential care building, natural materials and quiet, earthy color tones have been used as much as possible, Opendorp says. "SVK's facade panels - which the Hartekamp Group has also used in a previous project - are an excellent match. For the location in Bennebroek, we investigated various colors and structures, based on which Colormat Scripto was chosen. Because this facade panel is sanded during production, it creates a unique interplay of lines that gives the facade a natural depth and character. The "Earth" color then proved to best match the stone grading for the façade, creating a calm and neutral palette. As a result, the building blends very nicely into its green surroundings." 

Long-lasting protection against water and dirt

The Hartekamp Group values materials that retain their aesthetic quality for a long time, without high maintenance costs, Opendorp emphasizes. "In this case, too, the Colormat Scripto facade panels are a good choice." The facade panels are finished with a matte, water-repellent and transparent protective coating (hydrophobic coating) that provides the panels with long-term protection against water and dirt and ensures a natural aging process. In addition, because the boards are mass-colored, the edges have the same look as the visible side of the board. "The rhythm of the board and the invisible (blind) fastening complete the aesthetic quality."