The Penal Care Facility for Addicts (Dutch initials SOV) is a judicial measure established to tackle the problem of frequent offenders who are also drug addicts. The goal of the SOV is to rehabilitate members of this target group and ease them back into what is often an urban social environment. To implement the measure calls for a new judicial building type, a synthesis of prison, hospital and residential building in an urban setting.

This design for one such building is sited at the head of Schiemond, a disadvantaged area on the north bank of the river Maas in Rotterdam. Penitentiaries where the well-being of inmates and warders comes first are best served by the campus model. Open-air circulation and a green setting are less likely to cause friction, which can only benefit the well-being and manageability of the institution. Space is a problem for this model at this particular site. The Camplus model is a compact urban variation on the traditional campus model, and stacks the three rehabilitation phases passed through in the SOV programme. Each phase encompasses two storeys: a row of day programme facilities and above these the supportive services with the residential clusters at right angles to them. On the top two floors is the secure phase where frequent offenders can get back on track physically and emotionally as they sit out their sentence. At the building's centre is the semi-open phase, where a heightened sense of responsibility is instilled into the inmates. Their daily routine includes minor maintenance work, cooking and household chores. The open phase is at ground level. This is where the process of resocializing takes place in the form of work, schooling and supervised living. Typical features of the Camplus are the green shafts and stacked gardens, a 'healing environment'. These environmental factors contribute to the revalidation and successful rehabilitation of drug abusers who have often been left to their own devices for years.

As local residents are bound to be up in arms in the face of such plans, I have developed a strategy to successfully embed this programme in the neighbourhood. The boulevard along the Maas is to be redesigned as an attractive social space, together with the public amenities and the three-dimensionally interwoven gardens of Camplus. The design supplements the necklace of dedicated places strung out along Schiemond Boulevard; the upkeep of this boulevard is also part of the SOV programme. The chunky building locks into the neighbourhood structure and proudly opens up to the water. Its touchy-feely brick volume complements the soft green world filling the interior. The play of mass and void is enveloped in a constructional net that keeps the drug addicts in detention and clearly communicates the building's signature duty.

Place of education: AvB Rotterdam | Specialization: architecture | Tutors: Klaas van der Molen, Hans Goverde, Remco Bruggink, Ludo Grooteman