Plein Frank Bruggeman (patio) for De Oudelandse Hof

A new housing complex has recently been developed in Berkel en Rodenrijs (Lansingerland municipality) and the senior assisted living facility, De Oudelandse Hof, has taken up a prominent position in the estate. De Oudelandse Hof features a whole range of facilities, including a restaurant, conference rooms, an auditorium, a hair salon and a convenience store. It also houses a day-care center since many young families live in this particular housing estate.

Frank Bruggeman designed a work for the central patio of the De Oudelandse Hof. This patio can be accessed from the central lobby of the building and from the housing estate that surrounds it. In this way, the senior residents of the living facility as well as the local children can use the patio. In fact, Frank Bruggeman based his design on this situation and succeeded in creating a lively meeting place. Indeed, this outdoor area invites both the young and the elderly to use it and additionally offers a location where activities can be organized.

The imagery employed in Frank Bruggeman’s work succeeds in uniting the young and the elderly. For example, on the one hand, traditional elements such as an archetypal bench and a water pump allude to the past and serve to encourage the elderly residents to talk about ‘old times’, while on the other hand, various objects like a playhouse and a sandpit invite the local children to play. The work also features a mast with a tractor wheel attached to its summit. This element acts both as a beacon and as a breeding place for storks, while the contemporary style in which this traditional object was created, forges a link with our present day reality.

The care facility is located in a former agricultural region and many of the elderly residents used to be market gardeners themselves. Frank Bruggeman accordingly included elements in his work that refer to these nurseries that have since disappeared. For instance, the typical farm tree called ‘de Moerbei’ and the little shed-like house conjure up a miniaturized agricultural landscape. Finally, through the use of these different dimensions and connotations, Bruggeman has created a unique place where people can meet each other or simply linger.