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“North Brabant has approximately 400 community centres. They are located in villages and cities and are of great social importance for the liveability of a community. No community centre is the same. They come in all shapes and sizes; they not only offer relaxation, but are also meeting places, cultural temples or educational institutions”.

Designing the community center, library, catering and theater

Project:

2015

Year:

Kaatsheuvel

Place:

Municipality of Loon op Zand

COMMUNITY HOUSE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF LOON OP ZAND

For our agency, the challenge was how we could shape the house of the municipality of Loon op Zand. With each assignment, we first search for the identity of the users; the municipalities and its residents, or what is the DNA of the municipality of Loon op Zand. Together with the users, we created a visual story of this identity by means of collages. What emerged clearly is the history of the municipalities of Kaatsheuvel, de Moer and Loon op Zand, mainly known for the crafts such as shoe and mat makers. And of course the Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, the Efteling originated from this craft history, first as a Sports and Walking Park and in 1949 the Exhibition De Schoen was organized here. Now the Efteling is one of the largest and most leading amusement parks in the world. Apart from the Efteling, the municipality of Loon op Zand is known for its beautiful nature reserve De Loonse en Drunense Duinen. These are the defining elements that have formed the basis for the design of the interior of the community centre.

This is immediately visible upon entering the building in the choice of floor tiles, in a light sand colour of the Loonse and Drunense Dunes, the floor is the connection to all the functions that the building houses, the municipality, the cultural institutions, the library, the brasserie etc. A beautiful bench of more than 17 metres is made of various types of leather and several natural colours, with beautiful stitching. It represents the craft and nature that Loon op Zand is known for, the length symbolises the connection and the road to the future, almost infinite……. It is important for the users that the building radiates openness, is accessible and that everyone can easily find their way.

We have chosen a specific wall that is constructed from wooden slats, this wall is the connection between the ground floor and the floors with the many public functions. This slatted wall also camouflages the many functionalities that the building needs on the ground floor, such as the cloakrooms for the theatre hall. The wooden wall finds its apotheosis in the Council Chamber, where it gives the artwork from the ‘old’ town hall a new decor; the Houtintarsia from 1968 by artist Marius de Leeuw: The creative hand of God. After all, there is no present and future without the past.

The Council Chamber is a multifunctional room, not only for Council and Committee meetings, it is a beautiful room to get married in, but also for presentations, lectures, etc. The three cores that together form the municipality of Loon op Zand are symbolised by the three round light fixtures on the ceiling. The meeting layout is in a round shape, so that every place is the same. For the finishing of the inner ring, we opted for upholstered benches on a specially designed rug. People can have a different meeting here, but even more importantly, family members can sit around the couple during the wedding ceremony, as if they were embracing the bride and groom.

Together with the employees, we have chosen activity-related work, there are different types of workplaces suitable for collaboration, consultation and also for concentrated work. Everyone can work anywhere and at any time in a working environment that they find most suitable. There is a large living room with benches, here you can drink a cup of coffee, consult with colleagues or eat an apple. The color scheme and use of materials with natural colors fits in seamlessly with the public spaces.

A food-work café has been designed for lunch, the space can be used all day, outside lunch hours you can easily hold a meeting here.
This space is located next to the Council Chamber and by opening the large panel wall you can include the large meeting room for receptions and presentations. In this way, the building with the Council Chamber and these spaces can be used multifunctionally, in addition to several smaller and medium-sized meeting rooms that the building has.

The interior has a timeless, open, natural and peaceful appearance and offers space for meeting, relaxing, developing, working, culture, art, dance and so much more.

Description:

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