A nice and warm place for parents, brothers and sisters, within walking distance of the Emma Children's Hospital in Amsterdam UMC, location AMC. This is what Ronald McDonald Huis Emma has been striving for since 1985 and together with many volunteers. Over the past 40 years, thousands of families have lived in House Emma, close to their sick child. In order to be able to continue to accommodate families in the future, Huis Emma was radically renovated, rebuilt and made more sustainable between June 2023 and September 2024. Part of the House was demolished and rebuilt and the guesthouse with bedrooms was completely renovated, to a design by HEYLIGERS architects and with a focus on sustainability and nature inclusiveness. The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze Arturo PU2050 poured floor with recycled medical waste granulate is ideally suited to this.
"The new building of House Emma is designed as an archetypal house, as a child sketches a house," says Marleen Valstar, project architect and partner at HEYLIGERS architects. "Aafke de Haan, Managing Director of Ronald McDonald House Emma was immediately enthusiastic about this idea and also had good insight into how best to connect all functions in an integrated way. Where the old building was oriented to the road and blind rear of the Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, families in the new situation look out on the beautiful garden at the back."
To stay within the maximum square footage, HEYLIGERS architects removed several floor areas at the front. "This created large voids," says Valstar. "The combination with an additional kink on the side thereby creates interesting sight lines to the outside." The House was narrowed at the rear and the living room was reduced to one layer. "A choice that turned out very nicely in the end. When you now stand at the rear of House Emma, you see the image of a large and small house symbolizing the relationship between parent and child."
From the very beginning, sustainability and nature inclusiveness were central. "Moreover, an emphatic desire was to break through the appearance of a healthcare facility," says Kevin Odijk, architect at HEYLIGERS architects. "In terms of materialization, we quickly arrived at wood. Thanks to the use of Afrormosia hardwood on the facades and roof, House Emma blends in nicely with nature. By continuing the wood in the interior, we create a warm and homely whole, while the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze Arturo PU2050 Cast Floor offers a beautiful and durable contrast. Especially in combination with the recycled plastic granulate." The Arturo cast floors were designed by HEYLIGERS architects and realized by The Good Floor.
"Our mission is to give plastic waste a sustainable second life," says Mark Schothorst, director of The Good Floor. "But also to create sustainable floors for the long term. Only local ingredients are used in the composition of our floors. From recycled plastic to bio-based water-based components." The Arturo cast floors fit this ideally and are also easy to keep clean and economical to maintain. They also have a long lifespan. Who chooses an Arturo cast floor, also chooses personal guidance and extensive advice.
The Arturo PU2050 Cast Floor is a solvent-free cast floor based on polyurethane resin and with a high degree of UV stability. The floor is suitable as an aesthetic finish for both cement and gypsum-based substrates that are subject to light to medium loads. The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze cast floor is safe to use, low in emissions and contributes to a healthier living environment. The floor also guarantees durability and wear resistance and helps meet BREEAM, LEED and DGNB targets.
Especially for House Emma and together with HEYLIGERS architects, The Good Floor created a custom made design for the base color and weft material. At the base of the recycled terrazzo cast floor is a low-emission Arturo PU2050 Cast Floor, which incorporates recycled plastic granulate. "What is special is that the bulk of this granulate comes from the adjacent Amsterdam UMC, location AMC," said Schothorst. "Here, polypropylene (PP) medical waste was collected for a week and in various departments. From flask breast shields to syringes, caps, lids and medicine jars. In total, as many as five bigbags of plastic waste were collected, achieving the desired medium granule density (40% density)."
In total, The Good Floor realized 550 m2 of Arturo PU2050 cast floor, in all areas of the new building. From the reception area to the living rooms, kitchen, multipurpose room and (partially) offices. "Here a quiet base of gray and white was chosen, with the use of brass transition profiles to create a carpeting effect in a few places. For example, at the pantry, around the kitchen island and at the seating area for the volunteers, who are indispensable to House Emma."
House Emma receives no subsidies, but exists through the contributions of donors, sponsors and volunteers. "This project was also made possible by their support," Valstar concludes. "But also by the willingness of suppliers to donate (part of) their products." Arturo and The Good Floor also went along with this, offering a substantial discount on the price for this project.
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