A hotel in the Limburg hills

'There are main road people and footpath people. The main road people bore me. I am bored on the asphalt road between the milestones. These people have set their sights on a particular goal: profit, success. Along the path there are hazel bushes instead of milestones. And you can amble along and crack the hazelnuts. You are there for the sake of being there. With each step there for the sake of being there, and nowhere else.'
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This poem (as I know it in Dutch) and a childhood walk of mine are the sources of inspiration for the project. The walk I took so many times as a child with my father follows a marvellous route clear through the hills of Limburg province (Limburgse Heuvelland). Typical features of this five-sense-stimulating walk are the contact with the surroundings, the active engagement of both body and mind, and the use of existing footpaths. It's all about being under way.
Latterly, Limburg has been making a name for itself as the 'wellness province'. This design for a hotel, or 'refugium', seeks to contribute to that image. Its target groups are the metaphorical footpath people or decelerators, and the literal footpath people or pilgrims. The refugium stands in het Limburg hills, in Wielder (Wijlre), where it melts into the surroundings as well as making use of them, most notably by spatially framing the landscape elements on site, namely the town canal or 'graft' and the so-called hollow way. This context informs its winding shape, embedding in the slope, use of materials, and volumes both below and above ground.
The footpath people concept is meticulously carried through in the design. Visitors are exposed to the world of the senses. Magnificent vistas alternating with intimate courts, unexpected sight lines, changes in the horizon, reflections of light and sound, areas of shadow, direct and indirect roads, stationes (places to stop for a while), extravert and introvert spaces.
One can make contact with others or be self-communing, be occupied physically or mentally and be exposed to the rich culture and nature round about. Guests at the refugium can smell the cooking, feel the heat from the fireplace, hear the birds singing and taste the local dishes.
With each step there for the sake of being there, and nowhere else.

Place of education: AvB Maastricht | Specialization: architecture | Tutors: Birgit de Bruin, Jo Janssen, Caspar Slijpen