COMMUNITY INSTITUTION ‘DE ZANDE’ - BARN BEERNEM | B2Ai

The master plan for this site translated the institution’s innovative approach into an architectural vision. A characteristic feature is the concept of progressing along a path: every young person is first assigned to a closed population, advances during a reorientation period to a semi-open population and finally to a phase of ‘living independently under supervision’ pending reintegration in society. All of these steps along the path occur in different buildings. The buildings have been embedded along a narrow street that runs through the campus to symbolise the ‘straight and narrow’, or a law-abiding route through life. After construction of the first passive school in Flanders and the passive sports hall, the renovation of this landmark barn-like structure is the third phase in carrying out the master plan. Architecture The barn retains its spatiality thanks to application of the box-in-a-box principle. The rectangular box can function entirely on its own. When the glazed walls are opened, however, the box blends into the barn. On the ground floor there is a meeting area. The upper floor of the box has space for consultation rooms, a doctor’s surgery, a nursing station and some multipurpose rooms. The buildings have a twofold usage, thus building a symbolic bridge between the institution and the community at large. The sports hall can easily be used by outsiders without affecting life in the institution. A well thought-out layout of the surrounding area and the security concept ensure that the girls cannot abscond and that their privacy is guaranteed when people from the outside use a building.