RESTORATIVE SpAcE - the International Academy of Design and ...

Placemaker
Restorative space
Photography: Rene de Witt/Rob ’t Hart
The winner of the World Architecture Festival’s healthcare award, Groot Klimmendaal is
a specialist rehabilitation centre for children and adults in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and
includes inpatient and outpatient care as well as therapeutic spaces such as a gym and
pool. Architects Koen van Velsen took as their starting point the idea that a positive, stimulating
environment with access to nature will aid patients’ rehabilitation, and despite its large size – nearly
14,000sqm – the building appears to lie lightly on the land. It makes the most of a small footprint
by cantilevering out over the surrounding terrain, with the added advantage that its occupants
have even closer contact with the picturesque woodland that surrounds it. Groot Klimmendaal’s
golden-brown anodised aluminium facade is intended as a form of camouflage.
Direct connections to the landscape beyond are maximised with the use of floor-to-ceiling
windows on the double-height first floor, with large v-shaped black beams that echo of the shape
of the beech tree-trunks beyond. Through a clever use of glazing, natural light is able to penetrate
deep into the floorplate: for example, although they are not on the perimeter of the building, the
gym and pool are still afforded outdoor views via large picture windows overlooking the corridors,
and then through a further window out to the trees beyond.
Bright colours offer a stimulating environment, while a shallow timber staircase that runs the
whole height of the building enables a variety of alternative routes, intended by the architects as an
invitation to undertake physical exercise. The fitness facilities are also available to patients’ families
and members of the local community such as school groups, helping to make the rehabilitation
environment less isolated, and more integrated with the community.
18 January 2012 | WORLD HEALTH DESIGN www.worldhealthdesign.com