Ianthe Tang

Van Kwetsbaar tot Weerbaar

From vulnerable to resilient 
An innovative type of housing for secure youth care 

“Locking up vulnerable people under the pretext of care has been one of the biggest mistakes that has been made.” Nando, experiential expert secure secure youth care.

February 2022 and over 134,000 signatures later. After years, the many abuses have received the necessary and, above all, proper attention within politics and media, thus setting in motion the end of secure youth care. This is urgently needed, because the problems come at the expense of the care and development of hundreds of vulnerable, innocent young people; a process that still carries great social relevance today. This calls for the introduction of an alternative type of housing. 

That is why a city-centre, innovative type of housing was introduced for vulnerable young people who cannot grow up at home, where they can grow up and develop in connection with society in the most everyday way possible. From protected assisted living for young people between 12 and 18 to independent living in group form for young adults up to 27 years old as part of the follow-up care. Moving on within the same building in an environment and network that is already familiar to them offers them longer-term housing prospects and enables the transition into society to be more gradual; a place that was designed, in essence, on the basis of the interests and needs of the young people. They step, with their vulnerable past, into a space where they are guided towards a resilient, independent future.  

The mega-residential palazzo functions as the supporting building typology in this regard. It is a modern version of a classical palazzo; a highly suitable form language due to the protected character without losing the connection with its environment. This is created through an integrated public-social care programme that borders the public neighbourhood street that runs straight through the building. The large scale at building level is a response to the robust character of the surrounding building blocks in the Kadijken neighbourhood, the location of the assignment. Within this palazzo there are also reduced palazzos at housing level to align with the desire for small-scale housing. In this way, the palazzo as a whole forms a village in itself.  Based on the central orientation of the building typology, the shared space lies at its core, which gradually transitions to a smaller unit before finally reaching the individual private domain of the young person in the outer ring of the building; The place where the young person begins and closes their day with a view over the city.  

Their future. 

Graduation date: 13 mei 2024
Graduation committee: Jan Peter Wingender (mentor), Gus Tielens, Ira Koers
Additional members for the exam: Jolijn Valk, Geurt Holdijk