Care complex Maisbaai
Middelburg
2008–2015
Care complex Maisbaai
Middelburg
2008–2015
27 apartments, 3 care groups for the elderly, care building
Address: Dokhaven, Meestoof Middelburg
Gross floor area: 3.980 m²
Client competition phase: Municipality Middelburg/WBU
Client execution phase: Woongoed Middelburg
Design team: Berry Beuving, Uri Gilad, Joost Hovenier, Charles Hueber, Juul Reusen, Jan Peter Wingender
Contractor: Heijmans Woningbouw
Invited competition: first prize
Photographer: Stefan Müller
Care complex Maisbaai
Middelburg
2008–2015

Care complex Maisbaai is located in the Dok harbor in the city center of Middelburg on a site with a rich history that forms the border between two distinct worlds. The northern boundary consists of a series of historical buildings on the Kinderdijk whereas the south is facing an urban plan build in the 80’s by Aldo van Eyck. In the 17th and 18th centuries the site used to function as a shipyard where hundreds of ships were built on site for the Dutch East India Company. The four new buildings, united by their gently sloping roofs, form a distinct ensemble that address the end of the harbor. The ensemble is divided into components of various scales in order to create a strong relationship with their diverse neighbors. The housing program consists of three elderly communities mixed with social housing. The living environment was specially   designed for its inhabitants, which suffer from a psychogeriatric disorder, in such a way that they could maintain to live as comfortable and normal as possible. Since many of the residents are homebound, the collective living rooms are provided with large windows overlooking the harbor and the public square centrally located in the plan. Despite the variety of functions accommodated within the ensemble, the buildings can be read as one unified volume due to their consistency in form and material expression in the brickwork balconies.           

Care complex Maisbaai
Middelburg
2008–2015
An ensemble of buildings
The buildings in the surrounding area
Aerial view location, 1928
The ensemble between two urban structures The ensemble between two urban structures The ensemble between two urban structures The ensemble between two urban structures
The ensemble between two urban structures
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Continuation of the urban space between the buildings
View from the Dokhaven
View from the staircase across the Balkengat
Historical photo of beam storage, 1920
View from the communal care apartment
Site plan Ground floor plan East Elevation and Section
Site plan
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Living at the top floor
The urban space between the buildings
Urban living