Location: Karel Doormanstraat/ Schoolstraat, Rijssen
Year: 2009 – 2014
Area: 20.000 m2
Status: built
Client: Twinta, de Goede Woning, Philadelphia
Contractor: Hegeman, Nijverdal
Team: Remko Remijnse, Rocco Reukema, Jille Koop, Marco Olgiati, Fernando Herrera, Georgios Siokas, Christine Vriesema, Magdalena Orzel, Edyta Wisniewska, Nicolae Petrencu, Jessica Branchesi, Adela Lorenzo, Isabel Rivas, Julien Bezault, Amaia Lezaun, Michael Labory, Leonor Coutinho, Laura Maasry, Bart Machielsen, Tieme Zwartbol

In Rijssen we designed the new healthcare and housing complex ‘Eltheto’ for elderly people. Until recently elderly people were seen as a group that functions outside of modern society and are only in need of care.

The contemporary healthcare centers and housing for elderly people are still designed according to his idea. Over the past decennia, this resulted in a range of introvert buildings where the main focus is healthcare instead of the quality of life itself.

For Eltheto we separated the housing and healthcare program. The housing program functions like a particular housing program that one would find in a suburb. They are open and social housing blocks where the main focus is the quality of life. For the less independent inhabitants the housing program is adjusted according to their needs, but still, the focus on the quality of life remains.

The urban layout is designed according to this idea. The housing blocks are situated around several public spaces. The public spaces interact between the housing blocks, the centrally located healthcare center, and the neighborhood. It’s a place where the old meet the young, a place to rest, be active or sit on the terrace of the new restaurant.

The architecture of the different blocks reflects if they house a more individual program or a more social orientated program. Although this results in different volumes the blocks are clearly part of the same family that together with the public space become an icon for the neighborhood.