A-Jeroen Schoots

Jeroen Schoots Believe in health A building for church and healthcare

Wijnesteinlaan 109, Utrecht +31 (0)640762794 me@jeroenschoots.nl www.jeroenschoots.nl linkedin.com/in/jeroenschoots Studio Jeroen Schoots Schoots architecten BNA

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2014-2015 Architecture

Architecture

Jeroen Schoots Believe in health A building for church and healthcare

The churches are emptying. However, the church community In Utrecht Tolsteeg is an exception to this. As a young, growing church community, they are seeking out a new position in society. In fact, they want to be more open to fellow human beings. They come together more often than Sundays alone and through various activities, such as eating together with people from the neighbourhood.

Nevertheless, the importance of contemplation and sacramental preparation remains.

How can the church community strengthen its connection with fellow human beings and the immediate environment by means of a building?

Position of the church A location for a health centre in the district has been sought for many years now. The most recent plans did not go ahead as a result of the crisis. The church community can find a place for the health centre that responds to the current changes in a society where the notion of care has become less natural. As a result of this, the community can play a clear role in caring for people, even if it is merely a passive cooperation. The church can become a building (as in earlier times) where belief and health will converge once again and be able to reinforce each other.

This assignment is a response to the current demand for participation in the healthcare sector. The assignment is especially interesting because a short study revealed that people do not want to be confronted with a church when they go to a doctor.

Connection and mediation The connection between the church and healthcare can be found in the character of the corridors.

The building emphasises the symbolism of being in transit in life. The juxtaposition of belief and health sheds new light on the healthcare sector.

The two strong corridors, designed as a fissure in a mass, give a sense of character to the route, and in this way the visitor can find his or her way to the difficult conversation with the doctor, or the festive gathering of a wedding. The fissures mediate between what can normally not simply be next to each other and ensures there is a gentle transition. There are three courtyards which enable mediation and connection between the church and healthcare. Through the intervention of courtyards, nature is brought inside, private space created as open spots for the visitor. They are structured through the fissures. A classical approach to typologies lends each courtyard its own character.

All visitors will have a need for contemplation from time to time and this building offers considerable scope for that. That is possible in this building in different forms, made accessible and available to everyone without having to be a member of a church. This is even more the case if someone is having a difficult time. This building therefore has a unique and strong social and societal function.

Graduation date 09 04 2015

Commission members Chris Scheen (mentor) Bart Bulter Dick Pouderoyen

Additional members for the examination Ira Koers Jan-Richard Kikkert

Jeroen Schoots

Architecture

church in the green space

church and healthcare next to each other

church and healthcare together

situation

1. gateway

2. filter

3. fissure

4. walls

believe in health

levels of mediation

new situation

draft divide

draft building

glass roof grass roof

Dutch Mental Healthcare Association (GGZ)

church

su

doctor

pp

or

tin

g

communal spaces

Dutch Mental Healthcare Association (GGZ)

brickwork Stack bond

concrete

wooden facade

pharmacy

doctor

waiting location

courtyard

physiotherapist

functions

brickwork

brickwork

concrete

wooden facade

emphasises the horizontal divides

add an extension in simple brickwork

divides with subtle vertical lines

soften the transition to the courtyards

stack bond

half-brick

planks relief

varnished oak

Jeroen Schoots

section silent courtyard

section herb courtyard

longitudinal section

Architecture

city entrance

green space entrance

doctors’ entrance

church entrance

doctors wing

pharmacy/physiotherapy practice wing

church hall

Jeroen Schoots

silent courtyard

herb courtyard

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals.

There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation.

With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design

projects form the backbone of the syllabus.

On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills.

The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects.

The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.