04/06/2026
Working together with respect, based on collaboration and trust, and thereby achieving the highest standards together as architect, client and builder – that is also what is about.
Scheldehof is only one example:
What began as an interior design commission in Middelburg for care provider WVO Zorg grew into a unique regeneration project in the former port area of Vlissingen:
In 2012, the client took us to a large, dilapidated hall next to an abandoned dry dock, asking if we could carry out an urban planning study for a new residential care centre in the area – an area where the crisis had halted earlier development plans, leaving a gaping hole in the heart of Vlissingen.
The hall was the sheet metal workshop of De Schelde shipyard – a building where many of the city’s residents had worked. How wonderful would it be, then, to preserve it and transform it into a residential care centre, as a place connected to the city, its history and the community?
The site was special, but the design process too:
The study gradually evolved into a concrete design brief. Together with the client and the contractor – also from the region - we worked on a plan that wasn’t set in stone from the outset, but which emerged from collaboration, trust and respect. Despite the limited budgets in the healthcare sector, our ambitions were high; we didn’t think in terms of limitations, but constantly asked ourselves: how can we make it work?
This led to a special result, in which the original hall was restored, using a concrete ‘structure’ as a load-bearing element; the old sliding door and lifting bridges were also reused. In doing so, we designed a building in which normality takes centre stage and history shapes the atmosphere, with a warm, modern feel.
Scheldehof demonstrates that quality, humanity and ambition are achievable within ‘normal’ budgets — provided you truly work together. It is precisely through this that you achieve the highest level together.
