The Homerus kwartier lies in Almere Poort, the new district of the city of Almere. The entire development of this area is undertaken as a cooperative effort involving future residents and is therefore a testing ground for future urban development projects in the city. It is in this special district that the Kangaroo tower will be erected; a unique apartment tower with 'pouch residences' linked to their respective 'main housing units'. The ground floor of the tower is designated for facilities.

The Kangaroo tower will be the first high-rise residence in the Netherlands to have kangaroo homes. The units answer an increasing preference among care providers to house the family member who requires care in a nearby residence instead of in a nursing home. The residences also answer the needs of people wishing to provide care for an ageing single parent or people wishing to live communally with friends. A kangaroo residence is composed of two or more independent residences which are linked to each other through internal passages. These can be residences of equal size or a combination of large and small apartments. The largest housing unit is for example suitable for an entire family while the smaller unit - the 'pouch' - can be used by the member who requires care. Privacy is guaranteed because each member has his own independent residence. Together and yet each to his own home.

The final details of the residences in the Kangaroo tower are determined by the residents themselves. The tower's construction is undertaken as a joint effort. Residents can buy or rent the actual 'blocks' and in doing so enter the joint venture with us. Which form, orientation and division of space should the apartment have? Where will the windows and the outdoor space be situated? And how will the space be furnished? We also ask our residents as to which utilities they require on the ground floor. In this way there is cooperation towards creating a residence with the perfect custom fit.
An approach such as this ensures a high level of involvement by the residents. They feel involved not only in the creation of the building itself but they also become involved with their neighbors. In this way, a long lasting social community is established.

The largest challenge of this project is to provide all specific residence types a place within a single tower. This is achieved by deciding for an extremely transparent setup and by keeping the shell as simple as possible. The most special elements, the diversity of the residential types and the communal character of the units, are reflected in the architectural appearance of the building.
The elements of the façade are visually united by horizontal bands in which the outdoor spaces are situated. The windows are placed between these bands. Within this space, the exact placement of the windows is determined by the residents themselves. This creates an arrhythmic element within the confines of the façade design which reveals the individual residential specifications.

The energetic tension in the appearance of the building also originates from the contrast between the unity that we would like to emphasize on one hand and the highlighting of the diverse residential types on the other hand. The contrast is further accentuated by placing artistic façade plaques where different residential types border on each other.

address: homeruslaan, almere
design team: arie van der neut, albert herder,
dirk schlebusch, jurrian knijtijzer, steven broekhof
project team: arie van der neut, dirk schlebusch,
steven broekhof
client: delta forte, amsterdam
design: 2008
image: Sabine Heine