casa nova

client: stadsgewest haaglanden
location: den haag
realisation: 2010, competition design
program: 'officespace transformation: living space for the future'
pdf, poster: casa nova

Who is over 50? Developing for the over-50s means asking the question: what does the over-40s want in 10 years? People over 50 are in the middle of life. The children have just left home, one of the partners has a top job, or both. They are looking for a home with comfort, a place for relaxation. They are culturally interested and socially involved.

We propose to transform the building into a luxury residential building with service, in line with the Hague tradition. The monumental girls' school is stripped with the messy additions. The first extension is cut loose and modernized. The 28 houses in the complex vary in size from 74m2 on the ground floor to 720m2. They are freely divisible and can be split and combined if desired.

Various services are added to the luxury residential building: a wellness/fitness/sauna in the bunker provides an intimate, secure atmosphere and an exterior library/bar connects the residential building to the outside world at the same time. A lobby is being created in the heart of the monumental school.

The different parts of the program are incorporated into a new, lifted structure. This structure functions as an awning, ground level, and outdoor space and provides the monumental school with a new identity: a luxurious residential building for busy people over 50, a new striking presence in the city.

The members of the jury appreciated the playfulness of the entry and indicated that it made them happy.