Located in Antwerp, the Large Care Campus by BOVENBOUW architects employs a comprehensive low-carbon strategy, combining sustainable materials and advanced systems to promote health and reduce lifecycle costs.
The design goes beyond organizing programmatic elements, aiming to improve the daily experience of children and staff alike. By embedding the building within its urban and landscape context, the architects create a dynamic interface between the facility, its surroundings, and the community. This integration supports an environment where interactions and viewpoints shift and overlap, contributing to how children perceive and engage with the world.
Contextual harmony
The outdoor design functions as a key link between the care campus and its surrounding neighborhood. A multi-winged building layout helps reduce the visual impact of the campus’s overall scale, with multiple entrances distributed along different façades to enhance accessibility and orientation.
The school is entered from Leo Baekelandstraat, while the boarding school is accessed from Herman Vosstraat, creating a clear yet gentle transition between uses. Additional entry points located around internal courtyards contribute to a sense of permeability, offering a mix of open circulation routes and quieter, more protected spaces.
Immersive experiences
Acknowledging that children spend much of their time indoors, the design focuses on creating an environment that feels diverse and engaging. Interior spaces are closely connected to the surrounding landscape, offering a range of sensory experiences that make the indoors feel like a natural continuation of the outdoors. Corridors are carefully arranged to provide playful glimpses of the exterior, softening the boundary between inside and out and reinforcing a sense of openness and connection to nature.
Efficient construction
The project emphasizes sustainable wood construction, employing a range of timber products selected for both performance and environmental value. The structural system—comprising columns, beams, floors, walls, stair cores, and roofs—is built entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated spruce (Glulam). Much of this timber remains exposed, highlighting its natural character and reducing the need for applied finishes.
On the exterior, thermally modified European pine is used for the façade, its heat treatment enhancing durability and resistance to decay without chemical additives. Inside, plywood (multiplex) is used extensively for joinery, contributing to a consistent and low-impact material palette.
