Assisted Living Home for Adolescents

On the threshold between city and silence, this youth care residence offers an architectural response to vulnerability and growth. Within the strict parameters of VIPA, Areal Architecten designed a compact yet generous house where pedagogy and architecture seamlessly intertwine. The building stands beside the cemetery of Deurne, a charged context that is not avoided but embraced as a source of calm and reflection. The view onto the quiet garden of the cemetery lends the project a rare sense of serenity. Around an open staircase hall – the vertical axis of encounter and orientation – are arranged studios, living spaces, and terraces. This spatial core fosters visibility, connection, and gentle supervision, without undermining the autonomy of its young residents. The honest materiality of concrete and brick, softened by light and perspective, grants the whole a restrained dignity. The architecture transcends its pragmatic brief, creating a temporary home where young people learn to live, to find themselves, and to experience that space itself can be a form of care — a home that proves care can hold architectural quality.