Article source: Möhn + Bouman Architecten 

This two-storey, 110-meter long residential centre for people with mental disabilities has been designed in close conjunction with an existing tree structure. The resulting zig-zag- shape visually divides the building in smaller, human-scale areas, thus avoiding the perception of an institution. Slowly rising between the trees, a structure of wooden boardwalks accesses the dwellings on the first floor, providing it with a secondary landscape with a unique quality of its own. Every-group dwelling has its own entrance, with integrated sitting benches marking the transition between outside and inside. They are inviting residents to linger and interact with others, as do the retreating zones inside, featuring moos-clad floors and birch trunks.

Image Courtesy © Sarah Blee

• Architects: Möhn + Bouman Architecten 
• Project: Zig Zag
• Location: Nieuwveen, Netherlands
• Photography: Sarah Blee
• Software used: Vectorworks and SketchUp
• Client: Ipse de Bruggen foundation
• Project team: Andrea Möhn, Manuela Santarpia, Eva Engele, Zanda Lapsa, Monique van den Berg
• Area: 4800 sq m
• Design: 2012 – 2014
• Status: completed 2015

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