A home for terminal patients of all ages whose mix of functions sustains a temporary, dynamic community

Death rituals in the Netherlands are changing. More and more often, people are looking for personal ways of dealing with death. At the same time, it has become difficult for people to take care of their dying relatives themselves. The cry for hospices for this purpose is getting louder. 'Terminus, institute of future loss' unlike its traditional counterparts is a place for terminal patients of all ages. It combines the duty of hospice with that of an art centre and a training institute for counselling the terminally ill. In combining different age groups and duties, Terminus is home to a temporary, dynamic community where the guests retain a social life. More than that, the building allows the process of dying to take the most private forms. A second premise for the design, besides the exchange between public and private, is the surrealistic transition to an unknown hereafter.

In the deserted grounds of the former psychiatric hospital St Anna in Venray in the south-east of the country, a great many monumental pavilions and magnificent trees assemble in a natural setting. High shifting dunes separate the grounds from the surrounding town of Venray, making them eminently suitable as a site for Terminus. A microcosm for psychiatric patients for the past hundred years, this place now acts as a springboard for busy city dwellers and people in need of help. At odds with the prevailing system of psychiatric buildings, this new experiential one is rooted among different types of landscape.

Above the undulating ground plane, guests soak in the vibrant tranquillity of the park from their private residences. Stairs between the feet of the building link the guest rooms to the landscape. If desired, the private rooms can be combined by means of an endless walking route threading together all the spaces in the building. This gives staff, guests and visitors the opportunity to meet. Further, there are vertical platform lifts to access the underground rooms where you can enjoy a meal, visit the beautician or the museum, or hold a farewell party. These hidden spaces are expressed at ground level by deep incisions that stitch the building to the surrealistic landscape.

Place of education: AAS Tilburg | Specialization: architecture | Tutor: Ady Steketee